


Marked

by TheKM



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Bloodplay, Bottom Paul Rovia, Childhood Trauma, Coming Untouched, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark Paul, Daryl In Love, Dating, Dirty Talk, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Falling In Love, First Date, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gym Teacher Paul, Hair Kink, Hair Pulling, Hand Job, Hospital Visit, Hurt/Comfort, Insane Paul, Knifeplay, Love Confession, M/M, Masturbation, Morning Cuddles, OCD, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Child Abuse, Paul has OCD, Paul in love, Seduction, Shameless Smut, Shop Teacher Daryl, Shy Daryl, Sleepy Cuddles, Smut, Teacher Daryl Dixon, Teacher Paul Rovia, Thoughts of Abuse, Top Daryl, Topping from the Bottom, Verbal Abuse, blowjob, mild spanking, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2019-11-06 16:12:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17942969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKM/pseuds/TheKM
Summary: Paul Rovia is a charming gym teacher. When the new shop teacher Daryl Dixon meets him he is immediately smitten by the innocent and attractive younger man. The problem is, Daryl doesn't know that appearance and reality are two different things when it comes to Paul Rovia.





	1. Addixon

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Please read the tags. Don't read if it makes you uncomfortable.
> 
> Thank you A Sirius Crush on Moony and DarylsBabyGirl for helping me with the title and the continuous love and support. Hannah my love you're a gem. Tammy, you encouraged me a lot. Love you guys so much!

Paul had been awake for the last couple of hours. He was scrolling through the pictures on his phone. He zoomed in on one picture in particular. It was his last boyfriend, Alex's. The picture was taken minutes before his death. Paul sighed heavily. He needed to get ready for work.

 

Paul took a nice hot shower. A new teacher was supposed to join that day. Paul wanted to make a good first impression. He needed to look his best. As he blow-dried his hair, he decided his outfit for the day. He pulled on a pair of black track pants and a charcoal tank top. On the way out he took his car keys, wallet and his phone.

 

As he started driving, he was beginning to regret staying in bed and wasting his time. He hadn't even had time to make breakfast. Paul got himself a coffee on the way to school. When he parked his car in the school parking lot he didn't immediately go inside, even though he was a bit late. He casually sipped on his coffee and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Suddenly he noticed a bike parked just a few metres away from his car. He had never seen that bike before. Paul got out of his car and started walking towards the main building.

 

“Good morning, Mr. Rovia!” The students in the hallway greeted him cheerfully.

 

“Morning!” Paul smiled back. He signed in at the office and started walking towards the staff room. He took a deep breath before entering the room. Paul had the first period off. Most of the teachers were already in class.

 

The staff room was pretty bright and spacious with different seating modes. There was a small kitchen, some bar-style high tables and chairs, a booth seating with four chairs, some banquet-style tables and a couple of soft couches with glass side tables by the windows. Paul usually preferred the lounge seating. He walked up to his usual spot, the couch by the east window, and plopped down on the couch. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes for a bit.

 

Paul's eyes snapped open when he felt a shadow in front of him. The first thing he noticed was bright blue eyes, pink lips that moved uttering something, one hand came up to the man's forehead to push the hair back from his eyes. Paul's eyes moved from the man's hands to heavily muscled arms to the broad shoulders. He looked up again. “Sorry I didn't hear you… Would you repeat that?”

 

“Oh… I’m really sorry to bother you but I don't really know where I should sit…” The man scratched the back of his neck. “I’m Daryl Dixon, the new shop teacher…”

 

Paul's face was blank for a moment. Then he smiled sweetly and gestured at the other side of the couch. “You can sit here, if you want. I don't really offer my couch to anyone but I can make an exception for you.” Paul grinned and held his hand out. “I'm Paul Rovia, the gym teacher.”

 

Daryl smiled shyly and shook hands with Paul. “Don't laugh but you seemed to be the least dangerous one here. That's why I approached you.” The very few teachers present in the room were indeed quite grumpy-looking. Daryl watched as Paul laughed heartily. Good lord, the man was so breathtakingly beautiful.

 

“Oh, but I'm dangerous. You'll find it impossible to get rid of me.” Paul smiled broadly. “Back away before I mark you.”

 

Daryl shook his head as he smiled. He had been really anxious before. New places always made his anxieties surface. Daryl had expected people to ignore him. He knew he was old and not really someone people would like to hang out with. This stunningly attractive man, Paul, was so kind to him. It didn't feel like they just met. Daryl relaxed.

 

“Nah, I'm pretty sure no one wants to mark an ugly old man.” Daryl looked at Paul.

 

“I should say something about how entirely wrong you are, but that'd be categorised as flirting.” Paul smiled playfully. “I don't want to scare the new teacher off on his first day.” Paul leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes again.

 

Daryl's cheeks felt hot. He couldn't believe this fine specimen of gorgeousness was flirting with him. Daryl glanced at the younger man. Paul looked so innocent and peaceful with his soft and shiny locks all splayed out, the full pink lips, the lean but muscled arms, and the rhythmic up and down of his chest. Daryl didn't dare look further down Paul's torso. He had to tear his eyes away before Paul caught him drooling.

 

When the bell rang Paul got up and stretched before putting his hair up in a messy knot. He didn't miss how Daryl's eyes roamed over his body as he did. “That's me now. Have a good day, Mr. Dixon!” Paul smiled and left the staff room.

 

Paul had two classes back to back. When he was finally free he decided he'd have lunch. As he started walking towards the staff room he walked by the shop class. He slowed his pace when he spotted Daryl inside. He had his sleeves rolled up as he taught woodwork. He looked really happy talking about it. The students seemed interested too. Paul kept on walking slowly getting a view as he crossed window after window. The last window gave him a view of Daryl trailing his fingers down a piece of wood. Paul hummed and went outside the main building instead of going to the staff room.

 

When the school day ended Daryl walked up to his bike. He stopped when he spotted Paul leaning against his car making a phone call looking exasperate. Paul signalled for him to wait. Daryl nodded and leaned against his bike waiting for Paul to finish.

 

“Someone got the fuel tank leaked. I can't get this car anywhere now. I've called my mechanic but he won't be here for another three hours.” Paul looked frustrated.

 

“I can drop you, if you don't mind…” Daryl looked hopeful.

 

“I know I'm supposed to try and sound polite by mock-declining it but in reality, I need it. You're a godsend, Mr Dixon.” Paul locked his car and walked up to Daryl. “You saved me today.”

 

“Hop on.” Daryl said happily. He couldn't believe his luck. A ride with the charming man, Daryl's day couldn't have gone better. “I'm gonna drive slowly. I don't have a spare helmet.”

 

“It’s alright. I'm not gonna die today.” Paul got on the bike behind Daryl. “I can feel it.” The younger man whispered, hot breath tickling the back of Daryl's neck.

 

“You can hold me, you know, I'm not going to file a lawsuit against you for manhandling me.” Daryl laughed playfully as he started his bike. His laugh faltered when Paul wrapped his arms around Daryl's waist, resting his chin on the shop teacher's shoulder. Paul told him his address, his voice barely a whisper.

 

As Daryl started driving Paul slid his palms up and rested on Daryl's chest, pressing his body flush against Daryl's back. When they stopped at a red light Paul didn't stop his ministrations. If anything, he roamed his hands a bit feeling Daryl's biceps shamelessly before resting his hands on the older man's chest again. “You're pretty solid, aren't you?” Paul laughed seductively.

 

Daryl drove on when the light turned green. “Looks like you wanna die today. Haven't you heard of how you shouldn't distract the driver?” Daryl couldn't tell Paul how his body was starting to react. Thinking of Paul pressed up against him, being all handsy, voice so husky, Daryl was pretty sure he was going to embarrass himself.

 

“So, I'm distracting you now…” Paul hummed. He could feel the effect he was having on the older man. After a few minutes they stopped in front of Paul's apartment.

 

Paul got off the bike and Daryl took his helmet off. “Wanna come in? It's a bit of a mess cause I don't get many guests, you know.” Paul didn't miss the tent in the front of Daryl's trousers.

 

“I-I'll come over some other time, if the offer still stands by then.” Daryl quickly placed the helmet in front of his crotch to hide his boner.

 

“You can come over anytime, any day, just let me know an hour before you come so I don't get caught doing anything illegal.” Paul leaned in and kissed the corner of Daryl's mouth, moaning a bit just before pulling back. He winked and went inside.

 

Daryl stared after Paul, heart racing maddeningly in his chest. He wanted to say yes to Paul but he knew it'd have been hard to control himself had he accepted Paul's offer. He took a few deep breaths willing his body to behave and drove away.

 

Paul got to his flat and locked the door shut behind him. He dropped his backpack onto the couch. He went directly to his bedroom. His mind flooded with images of Daryl. Daryl with that ridiculously hopeful face, like Paul was some angel. He let himself fall backwards onto the bed, arms stretched. He wanted to have Daryl entirely vulnerable at his mercy. He wanted the man to submit to him. He wanted to break him, torment him, crush him and then get all the broken pieces together again. He wanted Daryl all to himself.

 

Daryl would look nice with his face bruised, nose and jaws broken. Paul's cock twitched at the image. “God, do you know how hard it is to ruin your own damn fuel tank without getting caught? But I had to touch you, you know.” Paul smiled a bit guiltily.

 

“I wanna know how it'd feel to sink my favourite knife into those fucking muscled arms of yours.” He sat up immediately. “I need- I need to know. I need to know, now. Now. I need to know now. Now I need to know…” Paul kept on singing it over and over again as he took the knife out from under the mattress.

 

Paul stabbed his pillow exactly on the same spot where there was already a stabbing mark. “Nope!” He moved on to various household items, each with a stabbing mark. “Shit… Great... Now this one's ruined. I SAID I NEED TO KNOW, NOW!” Paul screamed when he missed the previous stabbing mark by a few centimetres while stabbing a bar of handmade soap.

 

Daryl was sitting on the edge of his bed. He had never expected the school to be so welcoming. Everyone was so nice, especially Paul. He was so soft, warm and compassionate. Daryl smiled at the memory of their conversations. The younger man had seemed interested, too. Daryl decided he'd invite Paul over for dinner. That man was all smiles but he looked really lonely. Daryl was too. He hoped it'd be the beginning of something great. He was glad that there was no one to catch him grinning like an idiot.

 

Paul was lying on the carpet, things broken and scattered here and there around him. There was nothing in the house like Daryl. “Don't be disheartened, sweetheart, we'll get the real thing.” Paul petted the knife that he had kept on his chest. “I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. Don't make me mad, again, alright?” Paul cooed.

 

“You need a bit of blood here and there, baby.” Paul gestured at an imaginary Daryl's body. As if on cue some stab wounds appeared on Daryl's body. “See? Aren't you my gorgeous man? Fuck… You're making me so damn horny.” Paul smiled lopsidedly as he slipped one hand inside his pants and started stroking himself. He needed more friction. He yanked his track pants off along with his boxers. His cock was leaking already. The head looked angry with a beautiful red hue.

 

“I wanna break those fingers of yours, if I- … Fuck… -If I leave some fingers uninjured after I've played five finger fillet.” Paul rocked his hips and swiped his thumb over the slit, smearing precum.

 

“I prefer zip ties you know, hassle-free…” Paul started stroking faster and bucked his hips in time with his hand movements. He used his precum to slick up the index finger of his free hand and rubbed at his hole. “Used it before on… God yes!” Paul moaned loudly as he pushed the digit in slowly.

 

“Not gonna kill you, baby, don't worry, not if you don't make me mad. I don't like to be mad-” Paul stared at the ceiling alternating between pushing back against his finger and thrusting up into his palm. “-I don't want to be mad. Don't- Don't make me mad. I don't like being mad…”

 

His back arched, out of sheer pleasure, and the knife fell off his chest on the carpet with a dull thud. Paul stared at it intently. Images of him using it on Daryl was his undoing. “Ah fuck… You're gonna make me cum, baby… I'm- I'm gonna-” Paul clenched his eyes shut as hot cum spurted from his cock and landed on his quivering stomach. He hadn't come that hard in weeks. He felt like he'd pass out. He lay there panting desperately, pants around his ankles and cum cooling on his stomach. “You're mine. I've marked you. You're mine cause I've marked you. Marked. You're marked.”

 

Daryl couldn't sleep. He gave up trying after a few hours. All he could think of was Paul. He had never felt like that about anyone before. That man's eyes were so bright and kind. He looked at Daryl like he was something precious and not a dirty animal as most people thought he was. Daryl wanted to be with the man, share everything, sleep and wake up next to him, take care of him, love him, give him his all.

 

“Shit-”, Daryl thought as he stood in the dark, fingers gripping his hair and looking out the window, “-I'm falling in love.”


	2. Knife, Body and Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl invites Paul over to his place. Even though the evening starts innocently, things get steamy pretty fast. It leads to another revelation before the night ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the tags. Enjoy!

Daryl had had enough. Two weeks’ worth of smiling, flirting, sharing lunch and a couple of bike rides were enough to make Daryl go crazy. His feelings for the younger man had only grown. He couldn't tell Paul, thinking it would weird him out. Nonetheless, for the last few days Daryl could feel that Paul was distraught about something. Whenever he came to talk to Paul the man would just stare at Daryl blankly.

 

“Am I being too clingy?” Daryl asked one day in the staff room after the school was over. He was scared of the answer, knowing full well that he was already past the point where he could brush off rejection and move on. Paul was his drug. Daryl didn't look at him. He just stood quietly beside the man who was standing by a window.

 

Paul merely shook his head as he turned and stared up at Daryl, his eyes not as bright as they had been the first time Daryl met him. “Hey, tell me what's wrong, Paul. I can see you're not yourself anymore.” Daryl asked softly. His chest ached seeing that look on Paul's face. The very first time he had seen Paul like that, he knew that he would do whatever it took to wipe that desolate look off the gym teacher's face.

 

Paul fidgeted a bit, looking down. “I can't stop thinking about you when I go home.” Paul mumbled pulling at the strap of his fitness band. “I want us to be something more than just colleagues. I know you're not interested, so I'm just trying to stay away from you no matter how much it kills me.” Two truths one lie.

 

Daryl stood there dumbfounded for a moment. “What?!” Daryl was sure he hadn't heard it right. “You- You want us to be-” Daryl looked around. A few teachers were laughing and chatting idly scattered around the room in groups. He couldn't do anything stupid. “I wish we were somewhere else cause I really want to kiss you right now, as I have been thinking of doing for the last two weeks. It breaks my heart to see you so anguished.” Daryl whispered. “I think that answers your question.”

 

Paul stared at Daryl intensely. His eyes were still gloomy. In fact, he looked a bit unconvinced as if Daryl would say it was a joke and laugh. “Yeah? What are you going to do about it?” Paul's voice was challenging.

 

“I'm going to ask you to come over to mine for dinner tonight. I'll cook.” Daryl wasn't sure how he kept his tone so confident when his heart was threatening to burst out of his chest.

 

“I'll be there.” Paul's expression was indistinct. “Well, that came as a surprise, I must say.” Paul picked up his backpack. “Since I've never been to your place, text me your address. Let me know if you change your mind. I won't mind, you know.” Paul smiled faintly and left.

 

When the doorbell rang exactly at 8:05 p.m, Daryl almost dropped the tray of muffins he was taking out of the oven. He wasn't able to calm him nerves. The plain white button down shirt and a pair of grey ankle trousers he had worn for the date seemed to have some wrinkles from working in the kitchen. He had forgotten about the muffins until he was already dressed. Daryl groaned and went to open the door.

 

Paul fucking Rovia was standing there grinning and holding a bottle of expensive wine, wearing a pair of faded denim shorts and a black crop top. His hair was braided into a fancy bun with a few curled pieces framing his face. In short, Daryl forgot how to talk.

 

“I'm not going to pick up your jaw from the floor.” Paul kissed Daryl's cheeks. “Rude of you to keep your date standing outside. Five more seconds and I'm going to start crying. I can't go in uninvited, you know, like those witches.” The little shit had the audacity to look smug, Daryl thought.

 

Paul was practically glowing, a sharp contrast to the dejected look that he'd been sporting. That was the look that suited Paul the best, Daryl pondered as he smiled and let Paul in. He would do anything to see the man happy, to take away every last bit of his pain. Daryl could never see him upset. It made him feel suffocated.

 

It was a nice small house, artistically decorated. Most of the fancy looking pieces of furniture were Daryl's creation. The living room was spacious. The walls were textured with silver and charcoal paints. There were picture windows with silver satin curtains. The glass patio door looked out to a fairly large wooden deck with a small table and two deck chairs. “This place is so clean.” Paul looked around and smiled tilting his head a bit. “Looks like I need to mess it up.” Paul handed Daryl the bottle of wine.

 

“In that case, you're gonna have to clean up after yourself.” Daryl laughed and went into the kitchen. He took two glasses out of the top cabinet and came back into the living room.

 

“I know. You won't be in a position to do it.” Paul wiggled his eyebrows. Daryl poured them some wine and settled down beside Paul. The younger man took a glass from him.

 

“To a new beginning.” Daryl raised his glass.

 

“To us.” Paul clinked their glasses and took a sip.

 

After two glasses of wine Daryl shook his head when Paul offered to pour him a third. “I really wanna be sober tonight. I wanna savour every second of us being together.” Daryl stood up and held out his hand. “Come. Dinner's getting cold.”

 

Paul eagerly took Daryl's hand and let the older man lead him into the kitchen. There was a beautiful dining table next to the island. At the centre there was an iridescent crystal vase with a bunch of fresh red tulips. Daryl pulled out a chair for Paul. Once Paul was seated he plated up pasta, grilled chicken and salad and served them. He took Paul's hands in his and kissed them before sitting down.

 

The two men ate in comfortable silence, stealing occasional glances at each other. “I didn't know you could cook so damn well. I could get used to this.” Paul was devouring the food. Daryl chuckled.

 

“I’d make your meals everyday, if you let me.” Daryl said gently. He watched Paul eat. He could feel that despite the exterior, Paul was pretty vulnerable. He looked like he hadn't had proper meals for days. Even when Paul smiled there was some unnatural gloom in it. Daryl was sure it was because the man was all alone. He experienced a sharp pang of despair.

 

By the time they finished the dessert, Daryl's cheeks were aching from laughing too much. They were sharing funny incidents from their past. Paul got up and came to his side of the table and leaned down.

 

“I’ll be damned if I don't do something to thank you for this gourmet meal.” Daryl didn't say anything, for if he did his lips would touch Paul's. “Just sit back and relax.” Paul straightened up and took their dishes to the sink to wash, smiling innocently. Daryl let out a long shaky sigh.

 

Daryl dared to let his eyes wander when he was sure that the other man wasn't looking. The lightly tanned neck, lean muscled arms, bare midriff, the swell of his ass, and those long smooth legs seemed to mock Daryl. He rubbed his face nervously. Paul finished quickly and dried his hands on a towel.

 

“You want to sit here all night?” Paul turned and leaned against the counter.

 

“Definitely not.” Daryl walked up to Paul. He knew if he thought before doing anything he would never feel confident. “I think I promised you something if we were alone.”

 

“I think you should keep you promise. You don't want to make me mad.” Paul stared up at Daryl. “I don't like to be-”

 

Paul couldn't finish his sentence as Daryl pressed his lips to Paul's. It was just a gentle press of lips until Paul's tongue started licking the older man's lips, intending to deepen the kiss. Daryl parted his lips and kissed him back deeply. He pulled back after a moment, breathing heavily. “Stay the night.” Daryl whispered. The two men stared at each other for a moment before Paul reached out and grabbed the front of Daryl's shirt to pull him flush against his body.

 

“Don't start anything you wouldn't like to continue later.” Paul's expression had something strange about it. “You don't know how much it maddens me.”

 

“I want you, not just for tonight, I want you in my life. I want us to be together. I want us to be… in a relationship.” Daryl had no idea if he said the words correctly. He only heard his own heartbeat thumping in his ears.

 

“We are boyfriends then.” Paul spoke softly.

 

Daryl hadn't felt that warm and contented in months. He hugged the younger man tightly. He didn't know what he would have done had Paul refused to be his boyfriend. The man had said that he wanted something more but Daryl couldn't be sure what Paul meant by that. Daryl pulled away and took Paul's hand to lead him to his bedroom.

 

“We don't have to do anything, if you're not up for it.” Daryl’s voice was soft.

 

“What if I'm up for it?” Paul smiled, biting his bottom lip, and walked Daryl backwards until the bed hit the back of Daryl's knees. Paul gently pushed him onto the bed and knelt down in front of Daryl, staring up at him with bright eyes. “I've wanted to touch you since the day I met you.” Paul slid his palms up Daryl's arms and shoulders and down his chest. “I wanna see you without anything on.” Paul was still looking into Daryl's eyes intently.

 

“I'm all yours, Paul. You don't have to ask. You can do whatever you want to.” Daryl leaned in and kissed him slowly and deeply. Paul took the moment to unbutton the older man's shirt. He moaned into the kiss as he started to palm Daryl's cock over his trousers. He made quick work of Daryl's trousers and took his cock out. “I need to taste you.” Paul stated casually before leaning in to flick his tongue over the wet slit.

 

Daryl stared down at Paul as he wrapped his lips around the crown. Paul immediately started sucking the head needily, alternating between licking and pushing his tongue into the slit. He wrapped his fingers around the base of the cock and started stroking it while bobbing his head, taking more inches into his mouth. He fumbled with his free hand for a bit and grabbed Daryl's hand, gesturing for the older man to pull at his hair.

 

The bun had become loose and the loose locks begged to be pulled. Daryl tangled his fingers in Paul's hair and tugged gently at first. The loud moan from Paul and the hard suck that followed encouraged Daryl more. Beads of precum oozed from his cock. Paul lapped up the fluid hungrily and swallowed around the head.

 

Daryl was seeing stars. He didn't want to hold back anymore, not when the man he wanted was on his knees sucking him off so earnestly. He started thrusting up into Paul's mouth. Paul whined and reached down to palm his own aching cock. Daryl noticed that. He knew that he was close already. This was their first time and he wanted to enjoy it. He tugged at Paul's hair and pulled him off his cock. Paul looked up at him with wide eyes, lips swollen and red, panting a bit, beard glistening with saliva and precum.

 

“This is our first time. I want us to feel it together.” Paul smiled and stood up. He yanked his top off and grinned when he unbuttoned his shorts and let them drop. Paul hadn't bothered with wearing anything underneath. He stood there naked in front of Daryl with a smug smile on his face. Daryl's eyes roamed over his body. His cock twitched in need of attention.

 

“Come here, baby.” Daryl held out his hand. Paul took it and sat on Daryl's lap, legs on either side of his hips. “I don't wanna be the only naked man in here.” Paul nipped Daryl's ears and let the shirt slide off the older man's shoulders. He started sucking bruises on Daryl's throat and moaned when Daryl's hard cock rubbed at his hole. “I want you in me. You wanna prepare me?” Paul breathed against Daryl's throat. “I'm already pretty stretched from when I was touching myself in the shower just before coming here.” Paul laughed when Daryl cursed under his breath.

 

Daryl suddenly rolled them over. His lips captured Paul's before his back hit the mattress. Daryl shoved his tongue inside his mouth as he opened the bedside drawer blindly and took out the bottle of lube. Paul greedily sucked on Daryl's tongue and bucked his hips up to get a bit of friction on his cock. Daryl pulled away just to squirt some lube onto his fingers. He supported his weight on one elbow and reached down to gently stroke Paul's cock which was leaking helplessly below his navel.

 

Paul tried to smack Daryl's hand away after a minute. “Shit, Daryl, stop please. I'm so horny right now. I'll cum.”

 

Daryl chuckled and stopped stroking. He went down on Paul and rubbed his index finger against his entrance. He slowly pushed it in and was surprised when he met no resistance. He slipped another digit in which went in quite easily, too.

 

“Told you I got myself stretched for you, Daryl. You make me so damn horny at all times… God, yes… Get another finger in.” Paul was a writhing mess on the bed.

 

“Shhh, baby. I don't wanna hurt you.” Daryl slowly pushed the third digit in. “I'm gonna take care of you, always.” He licked the precum off Paul's cock while he waited for the man to adjust. “Fuck, sweetheart… You're too impatient.” Daryl laughed when the younger man whined and started rocking his hips to fuck himself on Daryl's fingers.

 

When Daryl was sure that Paul was ready he took his fingers out. “Do you want me to wear a condom?”

 

“I'm clean, I swear. I need to feel you in me, all raw.” Paul squirmed a bit.

 

“I'm clean, too.” Daryl poured some more lube onto his palm and slicked up his cock before getting on top of Paul. “Are you sure, baby? You won't regret this later, right?” Daryl lined up his cock with Paul's entrance.

 

“You're going to regret if you don't get inside me right this second.” Paul was going to say something more but couldn't as Daryl slowly pushed in. “God, baby… That's it…” He closed his eyes feeling the burn that always brought immense pleasure soon after. It had been too long for him. “Shit, move!”

 

“Damn, you're so tight…” Daryl laughed breathlessly. “You're gonna have to give me a few seconds or this will be over soon… Fuck, baby, don't do that-” Daryl gasped as Paul grinned and clenched around Daryl's cock. “God, you're such a naughty boy.” Daryl took a shaky breath and started thrusting slowly.

 

“Mmhm… only for you. When I see you in school doing all the woodwork… God, I don't know how many times I've got a boner.” Paul smiled up at Daryl seductively when the older man groaned. “I've lost count how many times I've cum thinking about you pounding into me.”

 

Daryl didn't know how Paul talked like that so casually. It only served to arouse him more. He increased his pace. Paul racked his nails down Daryl's back hard enough to draw blood. It fucking hurt. Daryl was surprised to see Paul still smiling up at him, his expression completely contrasting to his actions. “Aren't you a horny little beast?”

 

“You love it, don't you?” Paul flipped them over. “I've always wanted to ride you.” Paul threw his head back parting his lips a bit as the new position had Daryl's cock hit his prostate just right. “Baby… Right there… Shit...” Paul placed his hands on Daryl's chest for leverage and pulled himself up just to push down again. “Come on, baby… Fuck… Harder please. I'm not made of fucking glass.”

 

Seeing Paul riding him aggressively broke all of Daryl's self-control. He gripped Paul's ass cheeks tightly and thrusted in and out in time with Paul's movements, hitting his prostate every single time. Paul needed to suck on something as he always did when he was close. He took Daryl's hand off his ass and started licking and sucking two digits, obscenely riding Daryl hard and fast. Daryl slapped Paul's ass hard with his free hand. “Such a dirty boy.”

 

“God, yes… Please hit me again, baby.” Paul released Daryl's fingers and leaned down to tease Daryl's nipples. Another hard slap on his ass had him fall onto Daryl's chest. He moaned and took a nipple in his mouth. Paul immediately started nipping and sucking at it. His cock was trapped between their bodies. “Are you close yet? I wanna feel you fill me up. I need to be full. Always full. Fuck… I wanna cum… Make me cum, please.”

 

Daryl entangled his hand in Paul's hair and pulled at it to bring him up. He kissed the man hard. Suddenly Paul bit on Daryl's bottom lip breaking the skin, Daryl’s grip on Paul's hair tightened. He moaned in pleasure-pain. Paul lapped up the blood and licked Daryl's lips clean. The taste of blood and Daryl's brutal grip on his hair pushed him over the edge. He let out a strangled moan as he came between their stomachs, completely untouched.

 

Daryl gasped when Paul clenched around him. The moment Paul reached down to swipe a bit of his own cum on his fingers and shoved them into Daryl's mouth, Daryl was gone. He came hard inside Paul arching his back. His scream came as a loud moan as he licked the younger man's finger clean. Daryl was breathing so hard that he thought that his heart would stop any moment.

 

“Don't pull out just yet.” Paul's voice was too sweet. Daryl was still feeling hazy. He merely felt Paul humming a bizarre tune and smearing his own cum all over Daryl's body in different patterns. “You're all mine. Get that inside your head. Okay, baby?”

 

“I'm all yours.”

 

Paul looked excited as his cum cooled down on Daryl's body. He pulled himself off Daryl's cock and lay down beside him. Daryl used his legs to pull the sheets up over them. “You’ve overused this old man. He'll be ready again after a good night's sleep.” Daryl smiled and kissed Paul's sweaty forehead gently.

 

“I'll be looking forward to that, my old man.” Paul smiled and watched Daryl fall asleep. He traced the outline of the man's face with his finger. “Damn right, you're all mine. “I marked you with my soul on the first day.” Paul traced the dried cum patterns on Daryl's biceps and chest. “I've marked you with my body tonight.” Paul closed his eyes, sighing happily. “It looks like my knife will have to wait its turn.”


	3. Realisation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this soft and fluffy chapter!

“Maybe you can teach me woodwork sometime.” Paul entered Daryl's classroom when all the students left. “I love to see the look of concentration on your face. I can pay you in kind.” He grinned and held up his lunchbox.

 

“Let's see what you've got to trade for it, good sir.” Daryl removed the protective glasses and leaned against his desk.

 

“Sandwiches. They're not as good as yours but I tried. I wanted to make you something.” Paul placed the box on the desk smiling shyly.

 

Daryl was touched. No matter how rough his day was, one smile from Paul always made all of his worries go. Daryl had seen him training the kids. He knew that the younger man could easily tackle six people with his bare hands without much effort. Still, the more he got to know the gym teacher, the softer he seemed. Paul was strong yet delicate.

 

When Paul handed him the sandwich Daryl immediately took a bite. “God, this is really so good, baby.” He closed his eyes savouring the taste. It felt more special as that was the first time Paul had made him something. “This, however, doesn't change the fact that it's such a torture to be this close to you and not being able to touch you for hours.”

 

“You say that everyday. It's been a week since our first date and we've snuck out every single day for lunch. We even went to see the same movie, twice.” Paul smiled and started eating his own. “Yet, you miss me, old man.”

 

“I really do. I miss you even when you're around because I always have to hold back in school.” Daryl’s fingers itched to touch Paul's cheeks, pet his hair, hold him in his arms and just feel his heartbeat. He didn't know how he had become so sappy.

 

“We could have a picnic this Saturday. Maybe we could try and make up for the hours you can't touch me? I have a special place in mind.” Paul's eyes glowed with mischief. “Would you like to go there?”

 

Daryl would follow this man to hell if he asked.

 

                       ________________________

 

On Saturday morning, Daryl stood in front of Paul's apartment chewing on his fingernails. He didn't want to admit to himself that he was a bit hurt when Paul had asked him to wait outside. Maybe Paul didn't like him as much as he liked the other man. Daryl didn't have much time to go on with his brooding monologue as Paul walked out the front gate in a pair of tight jeans and a loose sleeveless shirt. He walked up to Daryl smiling playfully.

 

“Why's my old man upset? Aren't you happy to see me today?” Paul cupped Daryl's cheeks. “Hey, are you alright?” His eyes looked concerned.

 

Daryl tried to push those nagging thoughts to the back of his mind. “Now that you're here, I'm gonna be.”

 

Paul smiled and kissed Daryl's cheeks. “That's the spirit! Come on. Let's go.” He took the picnic basket from Daryl and put it in the back seat of his car. The two men got in the car and drove off. An hour later, they were pretty far from the city. The trees on either side of the road started to appear denser. 

 

“Where exactly are we going?”

 

“For the twentieth time today, it's a secret.” Paul pulled up after sometime in front of a cottage by a lake. The lawn was green but looked like it hadn't been trimmed for a long time. There were bushes and wild flowers growing freely. “The cottage is mostly empty but I love to come here. I've never really met the owner.” Paul glanced at Daryl. “Do you like it? I'm sorry we can't go inside the cottage.”

 

“It's so calm and quiet. It's perfect.” Daryl could hear the birds chirping. “I love this place, baby.” He leaned in and kissed Paul sweetly. He pulled away before his boyfriend could deepen the kiss. “That's what you get for making me sit here for an hour without touching you because you had to drive this far.” Daryl laughed and got out of the car holding the picnic basket. Paul grabbed the blankets and the cooler full of beverages before following Daryl. They chose a nice spot under a tree and sat down facing the lake. 

 

“Do you bring all your boyfriends here?” Daryl smiled teasingly once they got cozy.

 

“Only two so far, including you.” Paul took out two soda cans and offered one to Daryl.

 

Daryl chuckled. “Are you trying to make me jealous?” He opened the can and took a sip.

 

Paul took a moment to down the soda and let out a contented sigh. “Don't worry about him.” He rested his head on Daryl's shoulder. “I killed him and buried him near those bushes.”

 

Daryl threw his head back and laughed. “Damn! Poor lad couldn't handle you.” His boyfriend had a really weird sense of humour, Daryl thought.

 

Paul hummed happily. “If you dig it up you can see his rotting corpse. Do you want to see it?”

 

Daryl choked on his drink laughing. He took a moment to calm down and finished his drink before he spoke again. “Nah, I don't wanna see your ex-boyfriend's corpse.” He smiled lovingly and wrapped his arms around Paul. “All I wanna see right now is you, baby. Feels like I haven't held you in my arms for months.” 

 

“Spoilsport.” Paul huffed but let it go. It felt good to be held so tightly. He started tracing patterns on Daryl's chest with his finger after a moment. “No one has ever tried to make me feel so special the way you do, Daryl.”

 

Daryl's chest tightened at the words. He knew that his feelings for the younger man were ruining his life already. But he never really confessed to himself what it actually was. It felt scary to even admit it. That'd make it more real. Maybe Paul had only agreed to date. Daryl wasn't sure if it was the right time to tell Paul about his growing feelings. 

 

“I know why you were upset this morning. You think I'm ashamed of you. You think I want to keep you as a secret.” Paul mumbled softly.

 

Daryl knew he should protest but part of him was happy knowing his man understood him. He remained quiet. He didn't want Paul to let this topic go. It was one of his major fears.

 

“I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. There's nothing in the world more important in my life than you. I've never done this properly. Usually at this point my partner gets tired of me.” Paul sighed heavily. “I'm worried that you'd hate me one day. I can't see you hating me, Daryl. I'll have to-” Paul didn't finish his sentence. Daryl's heart ached when his man just clung to him desperately as if Daryl would vanish if he let go of him. He wanted to say the words right then and there regardless of the consequence. Instead, he tilted his boyfriend’s chin up and kissed him slowly as a means of assurance. He pulled away only when Paul seemed to relax a bit.

  
  


“If you think I'm ever gonna leave you, you're in for a lot of frustration and disappointment.” Daryl tried to lighten the mood. “Do I look like the type?”

 

“Yeah.” Paul stared up at Daryl. Then he smiled again. “You do look like the type that traps innocent boys and corrupts their minds.” He flicked his tongue over the fading bite marks he had made on Daryl's throat on their first night together.

 

“Are you innocent?”

 

“NO!”

 

“Then you shouldn't be worried.” Daryl laughed.

 

They spent rest of the afternoon playing childish games, singing together and watching clouds lying on the blankets. Daryl's delicious food made the atmosphere even better. When they finished their lunch Paul started gathering all the disposable plates and cups they had used and kept them inside a paper bag. “It's going pretty great so far, don't you think? I don't want it to end.” Paul squinted when he looked up at Daryl. Even though it was a bright sunny day, the weather was pleasant.

 

“Would you like to come over to mine after this? Tomorrow's Sunday. We could stay in.” Daryl had no idea why he was so nervous about inviting his own boyfriend over. He felt relieved when Paul smiled and nodded. 

 

“But I'm not driving. I'm going to sit next to my boyfriend and just stare at him for an hour.” Paul wiped his hands on a paper towel when he finished the task at hand. “Right now I want to cuddle. We've got an hour.”

 

Daryl smiled and lay down on the blanket patting the spot beside him. Paul promptly cuddled up against him. He placed his head on Daryl chest, one arm around Daryl's middle and hiked one leg up over the older man. His breathing evened out slowly. 

 

Lying there with a sleeping Paul on his chest did something to Daryl's mind. It had sent a wave of possessiveness directly to Daryl's heart when Paul had addressed him as his boyfriend. Daryl lay there thinking about things he had been avoiding. The love he had been feeling for the man since he got to know him and trying to avoid confessing it to himself, hit him full force. His hand absentmindedly kept on caressing Paul's back affectionately. His heart was beating so fast that he was afraid it'd wake Paul up. Daryl almost forgot to breathe. He just stared at the sky dumbly. God, he loved the man. Yes, Daryl would never be able to love another. Paul Rovia had ruined him for life in just three weeks. He knew that he would explode if he didn't tell Paul about his feelings.  _ Tonight, _ he promised himself,  _ I'm gonna tell him tonight. _

  
  



	4. Revelation

Daryl knew that Paul was staring at him. His eyes were on the road but he could feel Paul's eyes boring into his face. Luckily, the road was clear. Neither of them talked. Though the silence was not uncomfortable, it was not calming either. The closer he got to home the more uneasy Daryl felt. It was just a few minutes past sundown when he pulled up in front of his house. When he made to get out of the car Paul reached out and wrapped his fingers around his wrist making him turn his head towards the man.

“I've been thinking, Daryl. I don't want to keep it to myself anymore.” Paul let go of Daryl's wrist when the man seemed to pay attention to him. “I don't know how to say this to you. Best to do it here before we go in.”

Daryl frowned. Paul had been awfully quiet since lunch. He had not said a word the entire car ride back home. Daryl shifted nervously. Was this it? Was Paul breaking up with him? Damn, he planned on confessing his feelings for the man. Suddenly, he felt like a fool. Had he really been so naive as to believe someone like Paul Rovia would really want someone like him?

“Can you stop? I can almost hear your thoughts, Daryl. It should be me who needs to be nervous.” Paul spoke softly. He was looking straight ahead. He took a deep breath, unfastened his seatbelt and turned towards Daryl who looked like he was not breathing at all.

“Paul, I… Are you… Have I… Wh-What are you doing?!” Daryl watched in shock as Paul raised an eyebrow when he started stuttering before reaching out to grab the lever attached to Daryl's seat and adjusted it to slide his seat backwards. Then he climbed onto the older man's lap. Daryl had no idea what Paul was up to. He remained quiet, trying to calm his heartbeat. 

“Whenever I say something you always assume the worst. Do I seem that fickle to you?”

Daryl was staring into Paul's eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. He watched as Paul licked his lips. The man looked a bit nervous. Daryl looked up into his eyes again. “What? No!”

“When are you going to stop doubting me, Daryl?”

“I don't… I just-”

Paul closed his eyes, gathering the courage to prepare for what he was going to say. “You are the only person in the entire world that's keeping my sanity intact. You don't realise what you are to me, Daryl Dixon. But I can't show you unless you let me.” He opened his eyes and cupped Daryl's cheeks. “I'm not leaving you, ever. I can't because I don't want to be without you. I can't because I'm in love with you.”

Daryl rarely got tongue-tied. He had merely raised an eyebrow when a couple of years ago Merle told him that he was going to get married and settle down. He had just coughed a bit when two years later his brother invited him to attend his anniversary. He had only whispered a 'wow’ when he got his present job. But Paul had the game reach a whole new level. Daryl opened his mouth to say something but his voice was trapped in his throat. Daryl was painfully aware of the fact that he should say something before his silence was misinterpreted.

The shift in Paul's countenance didn't go unnoticed. His smile vanished. He slowly withdrew his hands. “It-It's fine, Daryl if you don't... I can understand.” He had the miserable expression on his face again, the one that made Daryl suffocate. When he started to get off Daryl's lap, the older man gripped his waist tightly to make him stay.

Daryl cleared his throat before speaking. “It's not fine. I've been planning on doing something special tonight for you because I wanted to tell you something.” Daryl’s hand slid up Paul's back to rest on his shoulders and smiled. “So, imagine my surprise when you said it first.”

“Daryl-”

“God, baby, I love you too.” Daryl pulled his boyfriend in for a hug. “I love you so much. I can't think of my life without you.” He let the wave of emotions wash over him. His eyes burned. “I don't want a life without you.”

Paul smiled into Daryl's hair and took a deep breath. “You won't have to miss me ever. I'll always be with you. You'll always have me around, I promise.” He pressed soft kisses on Daryl's temples. 

Daryl stared up at his lover with love and devotion in his eyes. He closed the gap between them and kissed Paul chastely. It was a soft and warm touch of lips. He felt Paul pucker up his lips to press a few close-mouthed kisses before drawing back.

“Let's go in. I wanted to do it here because I was scared you'd kick me out. I didn't want the walk of shame.” Paul smiled.

“I might still kick you out.”

“Nope. You won't. You love me too much. Now I know where you're fragile.”

“I'll definitely kick you out if you use it against me.” Daryl teased. “Get off me now. You're too heavy.”

Paul only laughed and clung on to Daryl more firmly.

_______________________________________

A couple of hours later, Daryl had already showered and changed into comfortable clothes. He thought of making dinner while Paul was in the shower. He wasn't that hungry and probably would have skipped dinner had he been alone. But there was no way in hell he would let his lover go to bed like that. 

When Paul came into the kitchen Daryl was choosing some apples for a fruit salad. He took a quick look at Paul. The younger man was wearing one of his shirts. It went past his bum, giving the appearance that it was the only piece of clothing the man was wearing. But Paul had not buttoned up the shirt and Daryl could see how low the boxer shorts, his boxer shorts, were riding on his hips. His hair was loose, already blow dried. Daryl could smell the shampoo. It smelled so much better on Paul.

“You didn't have to make anything, baby. I'm still full.”

“You're eating proper meals on my watch.” Daryl started to core and slice the apples.

“As you wish, sir.” Paul shrugged and went to check the kitchen cabinets. The top ones were full of groceries. The bottom ones had fancy cutlery and dinner set. “You keep your woodworking tools in the kitchen?!” Paul was kneeling down on the floor with the last cabinet door opened.

“These are the ones I bought later. So, until I make room for them, they'll have to be there.” Daryl chuckled.

“Fascinating indeed!” Paul started trailing his fingers over the hand saw. “Amazing!”

Daryl chuckled without looking up. “Even I don't get as excited seeing woodworking tools as you seem right now.”

“Because you're not using them the way they're supposed to be used.” Paul looked over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out at Daryl before picking up the chisel. He closed his eyes and slowly trailed the tool down his bare chest. “You can use it to shape the shapeless men.” Paul dissolved into laughter.

Daryl glanced up at Paul and shook his head. His boyfriend looked like a kid in a toy store. He watched as the younger man dropped the chisel to pick up another tool.

“Damn, baby, this one looks promising.” Paul smiled enthusiastically waving the utility knife at Daryl. “The blade's fucking sharp.”

“Baby, be careful!”

“Have you ever imagined how this one would cut into the flesh?” Paul was smiling mischievously. He ran his fingers along the blade. “So smooth… Fuck!”

“Paul! I've kept the gloves there. Wear them, please.” Daryl did not know if he should try to understand his lover's dark humour.

“Don't be a buzzkill, Daryl.” Paul spoke absentmindedly as he grabbed the screwdrivers next. He made a few stabbing motions in the air. “Straight through the heart!”

“Stop it, baby! It's not funny anymore.”

Paul chose to ignore Daryl entirely. “You've got such treasure hidden inside your kitchen cabinet and I had no idea.” He hummed softly when the power drill caught his attention. “You can use it to drill into someone's bones right?” Paul squealed in delight as picked it up gently. “You won't see the bone dust because of the flesh and blood. Just blood, blood everywhere...” Paul was caressing it.

“Paul, are you alright? Enough now!” Daryl was staring at him. His lover apparently did not know when to stop with the god-awful jokes. Daryl was so caught up in his thoughts that had forgotten that he was cutting up the fruit. He barely registered a sharp pain in his finger before instinctively dropping the knife. 

Paul heard the sharp intake of breath before the clatter of the knife dropping. He immediately rushed to Daryl's side. His man was standing there with blood dripping down his left index finger. The knife had cut it deep. He blinked a few times.

“Shit… Where do you keep your first aid box?” Paul's voice was pretty unhurried for someone who rushed in at the speed of light. His eyes were glued to the wounded finger. Without any further word, he carefully took Daryl's hand in his and his tongue darted out to lick the wound clean, to lick the blood clean, with love, loyalty and enthusiasm. It took all of him to suppress a wanton moan. He was already pretty worked up seeing Daryl's stash of tools. Didn't Daryl know what they did to him? He started sucking on that finger with renewed vigour. 

“... from top left… Paul?!”

Paul stopped sucking and looked up at Daryl, his eyes a bit hazy. He released the finger from his mouth. “What?...”

“The first aid kit… It’s in the third cabinet from top left, behind the bottles of liquid soap. Maybe that's why you didn't see it.” Daryl frowned. Paul was acting odd. His mind was somewhere else. He did not look like he heard Daryl at all. His eyes were downcast. Before Daryl could ask, his boyfriend slowly walked over to the cabinet and took the first aid kit out. 

Daryl continued to watch Paul with his brow furrowed. His lover disinfected the wound, applied some ointment and bandaged it. He clearly looked like he was trying to suppress his agitation. 

Of course, Paul was upset. He didn't want to wrap it up. What was the fun in having a wound if it had to be wrapped up in damned bandages? Bandages. He gently ran a finger over the bandaged area. Why had he never thought of using bandages to tie someone up? 

Daryl let out a sigh. Paul was probably blaming himself. “It's not too bad, baby. I should have been more careful. I'm not mad at you. You had me going for a moment with your jokes.” Daryl smiled trying to ease the tension.

“But I didn't-”

“It's okay, sweetheart. I know you didn't mean to scare me. Look at me.” Daryl tilted his lover's chin up gently. “I’m fine. We're fine.” 

To say Paul was hard would be an understatement. He was pretty sure he could cum from sucking on that finger. Or, if Daryl wanted, he could use that utility knife on him too. Fuck, that fine blade had his cock twitching. Would Daryl be mad if he used the knife? He himself would be mad if someone else used his knife. But Paul wasn't just someone. Daryl was his. Everything that belonged to Daryl was his too.

“Say something, please.”

Paul didn't know what to say. So, he stood on tiptoes and kissed Daryl who immediately parted his lips. Paul sucked on Daryl's lips for a moment before shoving his tongue in to ravish his lover's mouth. Daryl grabbed Paul's ass to pull him closer. He moaned at the first contact of the younger man’s straining erection against his rapidly filling cock. They parted when breathing became absolutely necessary.

“Can we skip dinner, now? I need you, baby. I need you inside me right now.” To prove his point, Paul ground his hips against Daryl's, grinning lasciviously. “I don't care if it's your tongue or fingers or cock as long as you make me cum embarrassingly fast.”

Daryl would never say it aloud but Paul talking filthy and acting like a horny teenager for him never failed to get him hard in just a few seconds. Still, he tried to keep his coherent thoughts intact. “You need to eat…”

Paul wrapped one arm around Daryl's neck kissing and nipping his shoulder. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the apple slices. He grabbed a couple of slices and shoved them in his mouth. “There, happy now?” Paul whispered. “Fuck, baby... I'm pretty sure I'm leaking already,” His words were a breathy moan, “Making a mess in your fucking boxers…”

That was the last straw for Daryl. It had been a week since they made love. He didn't want to waste any more time. He picked his man up and gently threw him over his shoulder before disappearing into his bedroom. The giggles coming from Daryl's bedroom quickly turned into loud sinful moans and shameless begging coupled with muffled curses. The plate of apples remained abandoned on the kitchen counter, only the two slices of apple with Daryl's blood on them were missing.


	5. Indication

Daryl woke up just after dawn to a warm body snuggled up against his chest and soft locks of hair tickling his face. Paul Rovia. A sudden wave of blissful contentment washed over him. The man he loved more than life itself, loved him back and was sleeping next to him. Memories from the previous night flooded his head. The way Paul had begged him, the desperation with which he had clung to the older man the entire time, the way he had submitted himself seemed like a ritual for Paul to worship Daryl with his entire being.

Paul stirred a bit. He mumbled something in his sleep and licked his lips, unintentionally teasing the base of Daryl's neck with his tongue in the process. Daryl shivered a little and closed his eyes again intending to fall asleep. He was starting to doze off when he felt Paul tense up. He had barely opened his eyes when Paul wrenched himself free from his arms without warning and pushed him away harshly. The last trace of sleep vanished from Daryl's eyes as he stared at the younger man who was sitting on the bed breathing shallowly.

“Paul?! It's okay. You're okay. You're with me.” Daryl reached out to touch but did not when Paul flinched and moved further away. “It's me, Daryl… Did you have a nightmare, baby?”

Paul looked at Daryl suspiciously for a moment. Then he seemed to calm down a bit and scooted closer to his man to lie down beside him wordlessly. Daryl started rubbing his lover’s back affectionately and petted his hair trying to soothe him. It worried Daryl to remember how Paul was looking at him like he never saw him before. He pushed all his insecurities away and concentrated on Paul.

“Let me get you some water.”

“Please don't go. I'm sorry I pushed you away. I don't know what came over me.” Paul sounded pained. 

“Hey, it wasn't your fault. It's alright, baby. Let's get some sleep then. It's still early.” 

Paul rolled over and moved a bit so that his back was flush against his boyfriend's chest. Daryl spooned him and kissed the back of the younger man's head. The comfortable position made the couple fall asleep within a few minutes. Three hours later, when Daryl opened his eyes again the first thing he saw was his lover staring at him with fascination. 

“I've heard that watching people sleep with a stupid smile on the face is borderline psychotic.” Daryl groaned and squinted as sunlight streamed in through the windows. “Damn, did we put on a show last night? I forgot to close the curtains.” Daryl's voice was hoarse.

“Not everyone is cheap as you. Don't you know that we need to have pure thoughts in the morning?” Paul smiled teasingly. “I’ll start. For example, the fact that your voice is so rough right now is definitely because of sleep and not because of the intense blowjob you gave me last night, right before you fucked me into oblivion.” 

“I don't suppose you mean the one where you were sobbing to urge me to, and I quote, 'suck me dry, please’ and pulling my hair so hard that I'm sure a chunk of it came off?” Daryl shifted and lay on his stomach resting his head on his forearm. “Why don't we talk about why you, apparently not as cheap, are in my bed naked and not bothering to cover your bits? I can't think of anything pure coming out of it.

“I can be cheap. Do you want me to be?”

“God, no, I can barely handle you when you're not cheap. Have mercy on this old man.” Daryl reached out to remove tangles from Paul's hair with his fingers. “Your hair's a mess.”

“Well, you love it.” Paul sighed softly feeling the gentle scratch of Daryl's nails on his scalp. 

“I do, especially when I'm the reason behind it.” Daryl smiled and pulled his lover closer who giggled.

An hour later, Paul had finished showering. He stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. “Stop being lazy and get up. I'm not touching you until you've had a shower.” He looked around the room wearily as he got dressed. 

“You should keep some of your clothes here. We're gonna be spending a lot of time together now that summer vacation is starting in a few days.” Daryl sat up, blanket bunched up at his lap. 

“I will.” Paul winked and started drying his hair. When he was done Daryl was still sitting, watching him. “What a creep!” Paul looked at Daryl in the mirror and shook his head. “I'm gonna make some breakfast. Give that finger some rest. I'm not letting you cause more damage to it. So, tell me what's on your mind.” 

“Anything you make me, mom. By the way, why weren't you concerned about my finger last night?” Daryl wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Daryl, get up. I'm not gonna ask you twice.” Paul looked a bit embarrassed.

“Oh god, Daryl, no need to prep me. I want to feel it.” Daryl was barely containing his laughter as he mimicked Paul.

“Daryl!”

“I can cum again, please, just let me cum.”

“Shut up!”

“You're not going fast enough. I said I want to feel it, you slow-ass old man!” Daryl doubled up in laughter as he got off the bed and started walking towards the bathroom.

“Daryl, I'm warning you. Stop.”

“That's not what you said last night, baby.” Daryl grinned as he stood holding the bathroom door. He closed the door the moment Paul grabbed the comb he was using and threw it at him. The comb hit the door and fell onto the carpet. “You missed it, unlike me, I hit it just right every time, if you know what I mean.” Daryl smiled to himself as he heard Paul groan from the other side of the door.

Half an hour later, the couple sat in the kitchen eating French toast and sipping on their coffee. “Sometimes I feel that you pretend not to be such a good cook just to make me cook for you.” Daryl loved Paul's cooking. In fact, he loved everything Paul did for him. It made him feel loved. Knowing that Paul put in some effort just to make him happy, made his heart swell with adoration for his lover.

“True. It's because I love when you take care of me.” Paul smiled warmly. “And yes, I'm a bit lazy too.” He grinned and started eating again. “Oh, that reminds me that last night you misplaced some items in the bedroom when you were tossing me around. I don't like when things are not exactly where they're supposed to be.” Paul looked up when he finished eating. “I'll do the dishes. Why don't you make it alright in the bedroom? They've been distracting me since I woke up.”

“I knew it. You lazy little shit! You made me breakfast because you wanted me to do the harder work.” Daryl feigned offence. To be honest he had not bothered to look around the room. “Then again, you know that I'll do anything for you, my love.” Daryl batted his eyelashes dramatically. “I can die for you.”

Paul raised an eyebrow as he took their plates to the sink. “You'd better hope that wouldn't be necessary.”

“Yes, sir.” Daryl came behind his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around the younger man's waist. “Now, give this poor man a kiss.” Paul merely had time to turn his head before Daryl leaned in to capture his lips with his own. Their mouths worked together flawlessly. Daryl’s arms tightened around his lover who let out a soft moan when Daryl's tongue started ravishing his mouth. They kissed each other desperately for a moment. Daryl caught Paul's bottom lip between his teeth and slowly dragged his teeth along Paul's lip before releasing it. Paul was a bit breathless but he smiled nonetheless. Daryl returned his smile and they kissed again slowly and gently, just soft pressure of lips against lips.

“I love you, Daryl.” Daryl felt those words breathed against his lips. His lips curled into a smile. 

“I love you, too.” Daryl emphasised each word with a soft kiss. They stood there for a minute with their foreheads pressed together. “You're ticklish, right?” Daryl asked after some time.

“God, Daryl, don't! I believe I asked you to tidy up the bedroom.”

“Okay, fine. The tickle fight is saved for later then.” Daryl pressed one last kiss to Paul's forehead before he disappeared into the bedroom. The room was already tidy. Daryl looked around only to find everything in place, except for the sheets and the pillows. “It's just the bed, baby. I'll make the bed.” Daryl said a bit loudly so that Paul could hear him from the kitchen.

“It's not just the bed, you idiot. Look around you. How can you not see them? They're making me mad. I don't want to be mad.” Paul sounded extremely annoyed.

Daryl huffed and made the bed. He took a final look around the room, even under the bed to look for misplaced items. None at all. “It's done.” Daryl did not get a reply this time. He sighed and sat down on the bed with a few catalogues. He needed to order a few tools for his shop class. Paul came into the room after a few minutes. Daryl was too engrossed in his work to realise what was about to happen.

“Didn't I ask you not to make me mad? Paul's eyes were cold. “Didn't I specifically ask you not to make me mad?”

Daryl looked up from the catalogue he was holding. He sat up straight immediately. Paul was fuming. He looked like a caged animal. Daryl licked his lips anxiously. “What's wrong? Did I do something?” He watched Paul looking around the room before the man exploded.

“I trust you to do one simple thing and you don't even have any idea. What's wrong with you?” Paul was glaring at Daryl.

“Are you alright? Please, baby, just-” The words got caught in Daryl's throat as Paul walked over to the bedside table on the older man’s side.

“What the fuck is this, Daryl?” Paul was pointing at the lamp. He glanced at the lamp on his side. “Can't you see how the one on my side is? Your one's position is PLAIN WRONG!” Paul knelt down and moved the lamp about a few centimetres. Then his eyes fell on the pillows on the bed. “This pillow... Isn't it supposed to be at the centre? Have you got no concept of what's called 'centre’? Paul did air quotes to intensify his sarcasm before jumping onto the bed and moving the said pillow two inches to the left. 

“Paul, what are you doing, baby?”

Paul ignored him. “Why the hell are the blades of the fan positioned so weirdly? It doesn't make you fucking itch? It was making me so mad last night… I couldn't even concentrate. Then I had to lay on my stomach. BUT YOU DON'T EVEN CARE, DO YOU?” When he saw Daryl's baffled expression he stormed out to bring a ruler from the living room, the same one Daryl used for his woodwork. He stood up on the bed and used the ruler to move the blades a bit. Then he lay down on the bed on his back. “See, they're pointing the corners perfectly now.”

Daryl only stared at Paul and blinked.

“I didn't want to think about it. But everything was so distracting. Then the soap didn't have my mark either, like everything else in the house. So, I wanted to mark it before using it. But I couldn't find my- Anyway, then it all came crashing down. IT'S NOT MY HOUSE!” Paul was still staring at the fan breathing heavily. 

Daryl sat paralysed as Paul kept on screaming his head off pointing out how the daylight showed him all the wrong things in the house and how Daryl did not do anything to make the situation better. 

Daryl didn't dare speak.

“That reminds me, you don't have my mark either, not one I can see.” Paul hummed when he seemed to have calmed down a little. “I need to mark you. I'm gonna mark you. You're gonna be marked.” 

Daryl's ears were buzzing. He barely heard what Paul said. He was sure it was not real at all. It had to be a joke. It could not be happening.

Paul jumped out of the bed excitedly. “I can't use any of your tools. HEY, HAVE YOU GONE DEAF?” Paul yelled when he saw that Daryl had not moved an inch. “Good lord! Am I the only sane one here?” He muttered as he tied his hair up in a bun. As soon as he finished, he got on the bed again and sat on Daryl's lap. “You're gonna wait for me, right?” Paul rolled his eyes when Daryl did not respond. 

“I'm gonna ask you one more time. You'll be waiting for me till I get back, right, baby?” He placed one hand on top of Daryl's head and the other under his chin and moved his head up and down a few times. Then he smiled brightly. “Great. I'll be back.” He gave Daryl a quick peck on the lips and hugged him. “If I don't mark my things, people will take them away. I can't lose you, you do know that.”

Everything seemed to be happening too fast for Daryl to even register what was going on. He could not breathe. He did not know what to think. He faintly heard the front door shut signalling Paul's departure. He placed a hand over his mouth and ran towards the bathroom. He knelt down grabbing the toilet and promptly threw up his breakfast. Daryl stood up and washed his mouth, refusing to look in the mirror. He closed his eyes and leaned against the opposite wall hoping it was just a nightmare as violent sobs racked his body.


	6. Consideration

Daryl spent hours sitting on the bathroom floor. He was trying his best to avoid the conversation he knew he should have with himself. He wished he could go somewhere, anywhere, far away from the nagging thoughts and the taunting voice inside his head. Did he really know Paul? Did he think he knew who he really is? He had expected himself to be angry but all he could feel was the frustration of knowing nothing and having no answers. Unable to push the distressing thoughts aside, Daryl stood up finally. The moment he stepped out of the bathroom all he could remember was Paul, laughing with him, teasing him, loving him, most importantly, going insane. Insane.

He limped across the room and buried his face into a pillow. It smelled like his lover. If he closed his eyes and fell asleep, maybe he would wake up to a different reality, he told himself. He would have a nice little chat with Paul if this was some sick joke. He let himself be angry. It was better than feeling like he was drowning. He would just wait for the man to be back. Paul had said that he would be back. He had asked Daryl to wait. He would be back.

Paul did not come back. No news even after 24 hours. 

Next morning, Daryl decided against calling in sick. He needed answers. He wanted confrontation. He had to drag his body to the school. Paul Rovia was absent, Daryl heard a teacher say as soon as he entered the staff room. He wanted to break things, hopefully, his knuckles too, anything that would distract him from the infuriating sinking feeling. The entire day at school was just a one way trip to hell for Daryl.

To say Daryl was furious would be an understatement. How Paul could just leave him like that after what he had put him through was beyond him. The younger man had not even bothered to keep his phone switched on. Despite the situation, Daryl wanted to chastise himself for finding it unquestionably relieving to be angry with Paul. He deserved it, Daryl had to remind himself.

By the time the school day was over, Daryl found that he was more concerned about Paul than being angry with him. The man had not even informed anyone that he would be absent. Daryl could not go home like that, not without knowing if his lover was alright. His lover. Daryl wanted to punch himself for centring his thoughts on himself all along and not on Paul. Whatever it was yesterday it definitely was not normal in any way. Paul needed his love and support now more than ever and he was just wallowing in his own damn misery, Daryl berated himself. He would never back away. He would do whatever it was required to make Paul feel better. He would be strong for the man. He just would not give up on Paul.

An hour later, Daryl parked his bike in front of Paul's apartment building. He tried to ignore the distressing feeling about how his lover never bothered to tell him which one was his apartment. Daryl confirmed with the security before getting in the elevator to go up to the 6th floor. As the elevator dinged open, Daryl got nervous and fidgety. For a split second, he thought of going back. He remembered how Paul had never invited him over once. No, Daryl told himself firmly, his boyfriend needed him now and he would not turn his back on the man he loved so much. 

There was no nameplate outside. Daryl was not sure if that unit was Paul's. He sighed heavily and rang the doorbell with shaky fingers. The hallway was so quiet that he could hear the footsteps of someone approaching the other side of the door. He knew it very well that whoever it was could see him through the eyehole. A minute passed. Absolutely nothing.

“What do you want?” A faint voice spoke from the other side just when Daryl was going to push the doorbell again.

“Paul!...” Daryl's voice choked with mixed emotions. He stepped forward and placed his palm on the door. He had so much to say but he could not manage to word them. “Are you okay?”

“I don't remember asking you over. Please leave.”

“Don't do this to me. I'm not leaving until I see you. You know I won't.” Daryl swallowed thickly.

“Do you want to make fun of me? Have you come here to tell me how worthless I am? Or, have you come here to tell me that it was a mistake and you want me out of your life? Or, all of that because that's what I've grown up listening to.” Paul's tone got colder and smoother.

“You can't possibly think so little of me, baby. What do I have to do to prove to you that I will not be able to go on without you?” Daryl shifted from foot to foot. He was beyond caring who heard their conversation. “I've come here to understand you. I'm here because I love you and can't stop loving you no matter what.”

The door opened just slowly, just enough for Paul to poke his head out. Daryl just stared at him. The younger man's eyes looked red and dull, his lips were chapped, cheeks and nose were red, and as far as Daryl could see, the man was still in the same outfit he was wearing when he had left his house. “Am I allowed to come in?”

Paul stared up at Daryl blankly for a moment and furrowed his brows. Then he shrugged and opened the door for Daryl to get inside. When Daryl got inside he slammed the door shut quickly. Daryl handed Paul the takeout dinner he had got on the way when the younger man led him inside. Once they were in the living room, Paul gestured for the older man to sit down as he looked inside the paper bag. 

Daryl looked around. The apartment was well furnished. The furniture looked quite expensive, so did the decorative pieces. But most of them were either broken or scattered all over the expensive carpeted floor. Nothing short of a cyclone could have made the room as it was. There was not a single thing that looked like it belonged where it was. For someone who got mad about things being misplaced the other day, this place seemed like it belonged to a completely different person. The cushions on the sofa were all crooked and one of them looked like it had been torn with a sharp object countless times. The tea lights looked like they'd been chewed. The lavish table runner, the potted fake plants, one of the fancy curtains, the side of the sofa and most of the things had the same mysterious stabbing mark. It couldn't be a stabbing mark, might have been done by some animal's paws or teeth, Daryl wondered. Did Paul have a dog? 

“What are you doing to yourself, baby? Your phone's switched off. You look so pale. You're still wearing the same outfit. I'm sure you haven't even eaten anything.” Daryl dared to move closer to his boyfriend and tilted his chin up gently. “Please tell me what's wrong. I've been worried sick about you.”

Paul sighed and placed the bag on the coffee table. He took Daryl's hand in his and they both settled down on the sofa. “I wasn't sure you'd like to see me after what happened yesterday. It hit me as soon as I got home.” Paul let go of Daryl's hand and rubbed his face. Daryl stayed quiet to let the man talk.

“My childhood wasn't easy. My parents got separated when I was five. My mom didn't take it well and she got sick. I was sent away to her sister's place. I was just an added burden to the family. They could neither throw me out nor accept me. I used to get shit for everything I did. My presence irked them. They didn't really say one good thing to me during the few years I stayed with them. My cousins were even worse. I wasn't allowed to touch their things. If I did, they'd beat me up good for it. Three ten-year-olds bullying a kid half their age every day for three years ought to mess it up. I think my OCD developed from there. I've kept it in control, mostly. But you hurt your finger and then I had a nightmare… That must have triggered it… It happens mostly when I wake up agitated. I'm really damaged, Daryl.” Paul scoffed. “You can't really tell me you still want to be with me.”

“You really don't know me if you think I'm gonna leave you because of it. I know that I haven't dealt with anything like this before. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy. It neither changes nor defines who you are. It doesn't change anything between us at all. I can assure you, there's nothing in the world that can change my feelings for you. Nothing can stop me from loving you, Paul.” Daryl took Paul's hands in his and kissed his fingers. “You have to trust me. If something bothers you, tell me directly. You can't imagine how I survived the last 48 hours. Just don't shut me out, please.”

Paul immediately buried his face in Daryl's chest and hugged him tightly. “I won't. I'm so sorry. I didn't know how you'd react. I thought I'd lost you. It was killing me. I'm so sorry, Daryl. I should have-”

“It's okay. Everything's okay now. We're good.” Daryl waited until his boyfriend's breathing calmed down. “For someone who hasn't showered in a day, you smell really good.” Daryl smiled and kissed the top of the younger man's head. “Do you want to eat now?”

Paul shook his head. “No matter what you say, I need a shower now. I feel disgusting.” Paul mumbled softly against Daryl's neck. He kissed Daryl sweetly before heading to the bathroom.

While Paul was in the shower Daryl went to the kitchen and served them both the takeaway food. “I was expecting a vicious dog in here, given the condition of your stuff.” Daryl smiled when Paul stepped out of the bathroom wearing a navy blue bathrobe.

Paul looked at his boyfriend wearily. “Yeah, keep looking for the dog. I'd have told you exactly what caused the damage but I'm hungry. Don't make me talk now.” He sat down and took a large bite of the grilled chicken sandwich. Daryl chuckled and started eating his own. Truth be told he had only been living on coffee since Paul left his house. He had no idea how hungry he was until he started eating. It did not take long for the couple to finish their food. 

Daryl wanted to help his man do the dishes but Paul did not let him. “Should I get the things off the floor while you're doing the dishes?” Daryl was sure Paul must have done it in his anger. His lover was scared of losing him. They both were suffering alone. Daryl’s heart ached thinking about Paul suffering without him.

“They're there because of you. So, suit yourself. Oh yes, keep them wherever you want. I'm not going to kill you for that. You don't have to walk on eggshells around me.” Paul looked over his shoulder at Daryl and smiled. Was Daryl scared of making him mad? Paul didn't understand why Daryl thought he would be mad. In fact, those things had been lying broken and scattered since the first day Paul saw Daryl. He never tidied his room after that. He could not. If he had moved those things, Daryl would have been gone forever. Only Daryl was allowed to move them, of course, after Paul had marked him with his soul and body. He could not invite his lover over before that. It was a fucking ritual. No one was allowed to change the sequence.

It did not take more than ten minutes for Daryl to tidy up the living room. The rest of the rooms looked fairly organised. “Would you be alright tonight?” Daryl asked when Paul finished the task.

“What do you mean? Are you leaving now?

“We've got school tomorrow, baby. I don't have a spare outfit. Plus, I really don't want to impose...”

“You won't. I'm sure we can find something that'll fit you.” Paul walked up to Daryl and hugged him tightly. “Please stay. I don't wanna be alone tonight. I'm sorry I never asked you to come over. I was waiting for the-”

“Look at me, sweetheart.” Daryl pulled back a little to look into Paul's eyes. “It really hurt me at first. I thought you didn't like me that way. But you had your own doubts about me and it was natural.”

“No, it's not that. I never doubted your affection. You're mine, remember?”

“Damn right! Only yours.” Daryl smiled and kissed the tip of his boyfriend's nose. “And you, sir, are mine too.”

“I am.” Paul's face lit up. “I need to mark you as mine so that no one takes you away from me. I need to complete the ritual.”

Daryl vaguely remembered Paul mentioning something like that the other day. “A ritual?” Daryl laughed. “Who do you think I am? A direct descendant of royalty?”

Paul ignored Daryl. “I've been doing it since I met you. I need to complete the process. Will you let me?” Paul wrapped his arms around Daryl's neck and kissed his chin.

“You've been doing it and I had no idea. Sneaky, huh?” Daryl pursed his lips to keep himself from smiling. “You're like a little boy, you know. Alright, do whatever makes you happy. You know I won't say no to anything you ask for.” As soon as Daryl finished, Paul cupped his cheeks and brought his face closer to his own before kissing him. Daryl smiled into the kiss.

“Let's go to bed. I'm tired. I just want to cuddle and sleep.” 

“You must be really tired tonight because just before sleeping your sentences normally end with sex jokes.” Daryl laughed as Paul whacked his head and led him into his bedroom. 

When the day had started Daryl did not know that he would end up in Paul's apartment and both of them would go to bed together, happy and contented. He was a little scared realising how much his happiness depended on Paul. In fact, his entire being revolved around Paul, if he was being completely honest with himself. He did not know it was possible for him to love someone that deeply and intensely with everything he had. There was nothing in the world Daryl would not do just to see his Paul smile, even if it meant sacrificing his own for good.


	7. Gratification

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's just a poor excuse for a smutty chapter after the whirlwind. This story is going to get darker pretty soon, so yeah, just a heads-up! Also, I can't actually believe that you amazing guys are reading my story. Thank you so much. Love you all!

When Daryl woke up in the morning he did not stir at all in case Paul woke up as well. Lying in bed with his lover brought back the calmness Daryl always craved for. He remembered the last time he had woken up next to his lover. It was the worst day of his life. He didn't know how Paul would react seeing him here this time. He mentally prepared himself for the worst. He had promised himself he would never leave his man to suffer alone ever again.

“Would you stop that?” Paul rolled over, his voice was sleep-heavy. “You get all fidgety when you think of pure nonsense.”

“Just thinking about you… How long have you been awake?”

“Long enough to count five sighs from you.” Paul caressed Daryl's cheeks. “That’s upsetting, you know.”

“Did I upset my baby?” Daryl chuckled and pressed a few soft kisses to Paul's forehead. “What do I do to make up for it?”

“Oh, I don't know…” Paul grabbed Daryl's hand and placed it on his crotch. “I won't say no to an early morning session. Since we practised celibacy last night, you need to make it intense.” Paul bit his bottom lip and grinned suggestively.

“You're always such a needy little shit.” Daryl was relieved to see Paul so relaxed and being his usual mischievous self. He leaned in and kissed his lover. His hand rubbed the younger man's clothed erection teasingly. The moment Paul arched into the touch, Daryl stopped and grabbed his shoulders to roll them over so that he was on top, without breaking the kiss. He sucked on Paul's lips grinding their hips together. Paul let out a moan when his erection brushed against Daryl's. Daryl pulled away with a wet sucking sound. He removed their boxers in two swift pulls and threw them aside. 

“Lube?” Daryl asked but did not wait for an answer. He attacked Paul's neck and started sucking bruises immediately. “I want everyone to see that you're taken.” Daryl mumbled against his lover's neck. “That's what you get for teasing me at all times.”

“That's what I want, too.” Paul giggled and pulled out the bottle of emergency lube from under the mattress. He tangled his fingers in Daryl's hair, licking behind his ears and blowing on the wet flesh making his lover shiver. “Sensitive, are we?” Paul's voice was husky.

“I'll show you sensitive.” Daryl kissed down Paul's neck and trailed his fingertips along his collarbone before leaning down to swirl his tongue in a slow circular motion over the dip where his neck meets the chest. Paul's giggle turned into a gasp. Daryl smiled and took a nipple in his mouth, flicking and teasing it with teeth and tongue. Paul's hand instinctively went to tease the other. Daryl looked up at his man and smirked.

“Daryl, please, baby…” Paul was grinding hips wildly. Daryl chuckled and massaged the side of the younger man's torso. He went further down to dip his tongue into Paul's belly button. Paul's stomach muscles tightened as Daryl kept on teasing the sensitive spot with his tongue.

“Leaking already?! Shame!” Daryl grinned and trailed his tongue down Paul's thighs, skillfully avoiding his lover's drooling cock. Daryl loved when the man went wild with desire. His own cock was throbbing pitifully. “Grab the headboard. You won't let go unless you're told.”

Paul, for once, did as he was asked immediately. He looked down to find his boyfriend staring at his cock hungrily. “I want your mouth on me. That wicked tongue always makes me cum in minutes.” Paul used the heel of his right foot to caress Daryl's back when the older man started planting wet and sloppy kisses all over his cock. 

“Thanks for boosting my ego.” Daryl licked his lips before taking the wet head in his mouth. He loved sucking Paul off. It had become his favourite hobby. The filth Paul always showered on him during sex was something he never really thought he would ever get addicted to. He kept on flicking the tip of his tongue to stimulate the underside of the younger man's hard cock while sucking him earnestly, maintaining eye contact all the while.

“You look so hot like that on my cock… Fuck, baby, I wanna touch you.” Paul moaned and gripped the headboard tighter when Daryl hummed and shook his head. “You make me behave like a slut. I wanna fuck your mouth. Can I fuck your mouth till you make me cum, please?” Paul panted.

“I'm all yours to use, sweetheart.” Daryl used his finger to tickle his boyfriend's balls and watched him writhe for a moment before sitting up straight. He squirted some lube onto his palms and smeared it. He wrapped one hand around the base and licked the precum dripping down the shaft. “Come on, use my mouth.” Daryl let go of Paul's shaft and took it into his mouth again, licking and sucking as if his life depended on it. His free hands teased Paul's entrance for a moment before he slowly pushed a lubed digit in.

“That's it, baby. You know what makes me go wild. Ah, fuck!” Paul started rocking his hips to get more of that warm wet mouth that never failed to amaze him. Daryl pushed one more digit in and he was gone. He could not decide if he should fuck himself on his boyfriend's talented fingers or his hot mouth. “God, Daryl, like that… Fuck… Faster, come on…” His fingers ached to tease his nipples. The pleasure was too much. 

It never took Daryl long to find Paul's prostate. The steady stream of precum oozing from his lover's cock told Daryl exactly how close Paul was. He brought his free hand to Paul's mouth and shoved two digits into Paul's mouth as he knew how his man loved to suck on something. It always made him cum hard. Daryl’s own mouth was ravishing his boyfriend's cock while his fingers teased the man's prostate expertly.

“I'm so fucking close, Daryl. You're gonna make me cum, baby… Fuck I can't…” Paul moaned and sucked on Daryl's fingers hollowing his cheeks. His hips bucked erratically. Three more thrusts later, Paul bit down on Daryl's fingers as his cock spurted ropes of hot cum into his lover's eager mouth. His cock gave a last twitch before Daryl finally released him, not a single drop wasted.

“You can let go of the headboard now.” Daryl smiled but he was panting slightly. Paul had his hand over his heart, breathing heavily. Daryl rested his head on his boyfriend's hip and stared up at him lovingly.

“Fuck, baby, that was a heated blowjob session, as great as having your cock in me.”

“Is that an invitation? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but we'll be late for school.” Daryl was hard but it was the last day before summer vacation. They could not miss school. 

“So you're saying you're gonna go to work with a solid boner?” Paul laughed and petted Daryl's hair gently.

“Help me get rid of it, quickly.” Daryl crawled up to settle beside Paul. 

“We both know you're not the one who cums quickly.” Paul scooted closer to Daryl until their faces were a couple of inches apart. “Not unless I use my little tricks.” His hand roamed over the older man's chest, down his stomach tickling the v. Daryl almost jumped when Paul slowly ran his fingers up and down his cock. “You remember when we went to the movies the second time? I had my toy inside me. Bet you had no idea.” He started stroking Daryl, his pace agonisingly slow.

“You-You were squirming a lot… I should've… God, you're such a tease, fuck… I should've known.” Daryl leaned in and licked Paul's neck.

“Yeah, baby. I wanted to see if I could cum from just being with you with a toy inside me.” Paul reached out to get the bottle of lube. “It was so hot. It was like having sex in public but no one knew, not even you.” He warmed the lube up smearing it on his palms. “I was barely containing my moans. You know how much I like to be vocal. I like everyone to know who's making me orgasm.”

Daryl knew Paul was doing it again. His lover knew exactly how much Daryl loved the dirty talk. His cock twitched shamelessly and he groaned. “Baby…Please touch me.” Daryl breathed against his boyfriend's neck and kissed the soft flesh.

Paul tilted his head to give Daryl better access. He wrapped both hands around Daryl's cock and started stroking. “I couldn't concentrate on the movie. I didn't want to. But I never thought you'd actually want to make out in public.” He twisted his hands in opposite directions, alternating between stroking and squeezing, giving special attention to Daryl's sensitive crown.

“It-It was dark and… I couldn't stop myself… Shit, please go faster… I- fuck I couldn't stop myself, not when you were practically grinding against my leg…” Daryl started rocking his hips to thrust his dripping cock into Paul's hands.

Paul used his thumb to smear the precum over the head teasingly. “I did it on purpose. You loved that I was hard for you, didn't you?” He increased the pace of his hand movements.

Daryl could only moan in response. He was close. He knew that his boyfriend knew that too.

“I asked you to kiss me.” Paul closed his eyes with a look of pleasure on his face as Daryl's tongue and teeth abused his throat. “And you did.”

“I'm sure everyone in the theatre knew that I did. You moaned so fucking loudly when I shoved my tongue into your mouth.” 

“Do you know why?” Paul opened his eyes and planted feverish kisses on Daryl's temple. It made him proud to see himself being able to make his man come undone so easily. Daryl had started begging indistinctly.

“Your fucking tongue pushed me over the edge. Paul's voice was soft and seductive as opposed to the brutal pace he was using to jerk Daryl off. “I moaned because that was the moment I came in my pants, just like that.” He laughed throatily knowing Daryl would not last more than a few seconds after that.

Daryl's hand clenched into a fist in Paul's hair when his orgasm hit him full force. His mouth parted gasping for air as he came all over the younger man's hands and their stomachs. His unfocused eyes and hazy brain could only make out the outline of Paul licking his cum off his own fingers moaning softly. Daryl grabbed his chin to pull him closer and planted a solid smack on the lips. Paul immediately opened his mouth to let Daryl taste himself on his tongue.

“You're gonna kill me someday. I know that.” Daryl pulled away after some time, still panting. “I can't remember when I came that hard from a handjob alone.”

“Well, don't die. I definitely want to keep you forever. I want to have Daryl Dixon all to myself, away from everyone else.” Paul wiped Daryl's sweaty forehead. “Only mine.”

Daryl hummed softly. He could not wait for the evening. They would be free to spend a few weeks together, exploring each other more deeply. Daryl had so many plans. They could go somewhere, or, maybe he could ask Paul to move in with him. They were practically living together anyway. He knew Paul would never say no. Daryl just wanted to make it official and let everyone know that the two belonged to each other. Daryl could not remember the last time he was this excited. He could not stop the stupid grin splitting his face either. He was happy with his life at last. In fact, he was ecstatic with love. Daryl could not ask for more at that moment.

“After the school closes for the summer vacation today, I'm all yours.” Daryl caressed Paul's chest lovingly, with his eyes closed.

“You promise?” 

“I promise, baby.”


	8. Ripples

The school day did not drag. Everyone had been in the holiday mood. When Daryl entered the staff room after the last class for the day was over and his students had finally left Paul was already sitting on a couch with two mugs of coffee in the corner they usually occupied.

“So, your kids finally decided to leave. It looked like they'd never leave the classroom. They love you a lot, Daryl.” Paul smiled and handed Daryl a mug.

“You're the one to talk. Like I didn't see the entire class giving you a group hug before leaving… You're really great with kids.” Daryl took the mug and sipped on his coffee.

“Well, I try, a lot actually. I don't want them to suffer the way I did.” Paul looked down at his mug. Daryl knew the man did not like to remember those days. He needed to cheer his man up.

“As promised, now I'm completely yours. So, I've been thinking we could go somewhere, just the two of us. I don't want to go to a crowded place. Maybe somewhere serene and peaceful?” Daryl wanted a few days of complete calmness far away from the crowd so that Paul would relax a bit too.

“Do you remember the place we went to for a picnic?”

“Yeah. That's the sort of place I've been talking about. Too bad that we can't go in.”

“About that,” Paul shifted a bit. “Don't get mad at me, please. I didn't tell you the truth about it.”

Daryl furrowed his brows. He did not say anything but stared at Paul for an explanation.

“I inherited it from my grandparents. I was actually shocked that they would give me anything considering, well, everything. I guess they had a change of heart. But I didn't lie to you about not knowing them. I didn't really spend much time around them. In retrospect, I don't blame them. They were old and bedridden. They probably didn't even know what condition I was in. At least, they didn't forget me. But I hate everyone else.” Paul took another sip of his coffee and looked up at Daryl.

“Why did you hide it from me? I hadn't even asked you about it. You just fed me some story. Why, Paul?” Daryl was hurt. Didn't Paul trust him at all? It was just a couple of weeks ago. In fact, Daryl had been thinking about confessing his feelings throughout that day.

“Technically, I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you the truth.” Paul looked around. Causing a scene was the last thing in his mind. “I'm sorry, Daryl.”

“You told me that you love me on the way back home. It was on that very day or have you forgotten that?” Daryl tried his best to remain calm.

“I've always had trouble letting people know about me, you know that, right? I didn't tell you because it required talking about my childhood and that family. I hate them. I hate them for what they did. I didn't even know that afternoon if you actually wanted a relationship with me, if you loved me back. Still, I felt bad immediately. But I couldn't take it back. My anxieties, insecurities, everything was just- I was overwhelmed… with feelings for you, apprehension and the guilt of keeping things from you… I'm sorry, baby. It's not in my nature to open up to someone. You're the only one who's seen me at my most vulnerable state and still accepted me.” Paul looked absolutely distressed.

Daryl stared at him for a moment. That sort of fucked up childhood was bound to cause some permanent damage. Patience was the key, Daryl reminded himself. It made sense to him when he thought about it from Paul's point of view. “Do you believe now that I've got you? That you can trust me no matter what happens? Do you promise not to hide anything from me ever?”

Paul nodded. “I do. This was the only thing I didn't tell you actually. I even told you about my ex.” 

Daryl finally smiled. “A bit too enthusiastically, indeed.”

“So, we could go there, if you want. It's a secluded area, just like you wanted.” Paul finished his coffee and kept the mug on the table.

“Tomorrow. We'll leave in the morning. I'll be at your place at 10 a.m..”

_______________________________________

Paul parked his car outside Daryl's house at around 8 a.m. He had no intention of waiting in his apartment for Daryl when he was ready and could just drive to his house. He hated waiting at all costs. He remained in his car and scanned the entire neighbourhood. There weren't many houses as far as he could see. A movement from the house closest to Daryl's caught his eye. 

A man leaned against the porch railing, eyes searching for something in the direction of Daryl's house. Paul got out of his car and made his presence known. The man's eyes fell on him and even though he was a bit far from where Paul was standing, Paul did not miss the man's flustered face, like he was caught doing something he should not have been doing.

Paul cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. It was too early for Daryl to be awake anyway since he had packed everything last night. Paul decided that he would try to get to the bottom of whatever it was. He waved at the man. The man awkwardly waved back. Interesting. Paul started walking towards that house.

“You're a friend of Daryl's?” Paul smiled as he came face to face with the man. He had strawberry blonde hair, green eyes, pronounced cheekbones, and he definitely looked quite nervous. He was a lean, tall, soft-looking man who had the potential to be really stern if required.

“Just a neighbour.” The man licked his lips. 

“What were you looking for?” Paul stared up at the man with curiosity.

The man scratched the back of his neck. His ears had gone dark red along with his cheeks. He should not be so nervous. In fact, it was Paul who was a stranger standing on his porch asking questions. “I was just…”

“Admiring the view?” Paul asked teasingly. “You don't have to be embarrassed, you know. I know that you've got an interesting story and as you can see, I'm really dying to hear it.”

“I watched you two.” The man blurted out. 

“Watched us? Doing what?” Paul's face was innocent. He looked like he did not have a clue. A moment passed. The man looked away for a few seconds before looking into Paul's eyes again, determinedly this time.

“How many times?” Paul grinned this time.

“More than once. You two aren't exactly subtle.” The hesitancy had disappeared from the man's voice.

“Did you like it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“What are you doing there, baby?” Daryl’s voice echoed in the quiet neighbourhood. “Oh, hey, Eric! Is my little shit troubling you?”

“N-No… We were just talking…” Eric tried to keep his voice normal. 

“I'm on my best behaviour, I promise.” Paul shouted so that Daryl would hear him. Give me a minute, I'll be there.” Daryl raised his thumb up and went inside. Paul turned towards the other man. “Eric, huh? So, Eric, do you want him? Are you jealous of me?”

“What? I don't… I'm not-”

“You get off on watching him fuck me? Do you wish to be in my place? I'm sure that you know how many times he makes me fall apart in his arms, don't you? You evidently do. You fucking watch us.” Paul brought his mouth closer to Eric's ear and whispered. “He makes me cum so many times that I don't even feel like jerking off when I'm alone. You want that, I know you do. You want him to press you up against a wall and have his way with you like I'm sure you saw him doing to me the other day. Admit it!” 

Eric stepped back. The bulge in his trousers confirmed that Paul was right. He looked away. 

“That settles it.” Paul winked and started walking towards Daryl's house. “I'll see what I can do about the situation.” Paul laughed and disappeared into Daryl's house within a few seconds.

_________________________

“I'm kinda jealous that my boyfriend went to talk to some other dude before giving me my good morning kiss.” Daryl smiled playfully as Paul came in and wrapped him in a tight hug. Daryl kissed his lover sweetly, eliciting a soft moan from the younger man.

“Your Eric has a big crush on you.” Paul smirked when he pulled away. “By the time you were inside, he was already sporting a boner.”

“Ugh, Paul! I don't want to hear about that!” Daryl turned to plate their breakfast. When he put a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs in front of Paul who was still smirking. “God knows what you told him. Don't make that face, I know you must have told him something. How am I going to face him now?!” Daryl groaned in embarrassment.

“Don't worry, he'll be fine. If not, he can always tune in to our show.” 

“You're disgusting! You do it on purpose.”

“You still love me.” Paul grinned.

“Unfortunately, yes, I do. Now eat. I'll have to hurry up.”

_________________________

Two hours later, the couple were loading the car. Paul glanced at Eric's house. It looked deserted. Daryl shook his head and smacked Paul's head gently when the younger man wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Once everything looked good to go, Paul called shotgun and got into the car. Daryl merely sighed and got into the driver's seat and started the car.

“Why did you come here to pick me up?” Daryl asked conversationally. He was good at memorising roads. He always remembered every turn. He didn't need any assistance from Paul this time.

“Be grateful that your fatass didn't have to take the trouble.” Paul opened a packet of potato chips and started eating, feeding Daryl occasionally.

“Quite mouthy today, aren't you?”

“Just getting into the mood. The occasion calls for it.” Paul seemed to be full of high spirits. 

Daryl smiled to himself. Seeing his man already starting to relax made him feel free. By the time Daryl pulled up in front of the cottage, Paul was already asleep. Daryl knew that his boyfriend must have woken up earlier than usual out of excitement. 

“We're here, sweetheart.” Daryl nudged Paul gently so as not to startle him. Paul looked around and slowly got out of the car. “Feels great to be back here again with you. Why don't you go unlock the door while I get our stuff?” Daryl suggested.

Paul nodded and walked towards the cottage, hand reaching inside his pocket for the keys. He fumbled with the lock for a bit. When he ultimately opened the door Daryl had already finished unloading the car and was standing behind him with their trolleys.

Daryl stepped inside and Paul locked the door shut behind him. “We might have to tidy up the place a bit. It's dusty too. I haven't been here in months. I'll show you around, come on.” Paul took Daryl's hand into his and excitedly led him inside. The rooms smelled of some chemicals that Daryl could not remember. The stagnant air probably could not neutralise it. 

“We should leave the windows open. It smells funny in here.” Daryl offered. “Why don't we start getting rid of the dust?”

_________________________

The two men took the time to make the place habitable. After an hour the rooms were as dust free as they could make it. The smell of chemicals was still there but it was tolerable as it had faded. They took a quick shower together. It was late afternoon when after a light meal they finally settled down on a couch curled up together, wearing only their boxer shorts and tank tops, with two glasses of dark chocolate milkshake.

“Tomorrow we can go trekking or we can just walk around. We can also visit the places of interest here if you feel like it.” Daryl was lazily drawing patterns on Paul's bare thighs, sipping on his drink.

“We can. Or, we can do that later as well. We're not in a hurry. We can be here as long as we want to. We've got plenty of time and I've got loads of ideas to keep you occupied for a while.” Paul enjoyed the attention and closed his eyes, melting into Daryl's arms. 

“You seem so tired today, baby. Are you alright?” Concern laced Daryl's voice.

“Just lack of sleep. I probably need to rest for a while.” Paul finished the rest of his drink quickly. “Do you remember your promise, Daryl?”

“Every word. I'm at your mercy now, all yours.” Daryl answered so seriously that made Paul giggle.

“Alright, now try to get some sleep.” Daryl let the younger man get into a comfortable position on his chest. He decided that he could do with a nap too. Soon enough, both of them were fast asleep, peacefully. It was only the first day of their vacation. They had plenty of time for exploring the neighbourhood as well as themselves.


	9. Blow

Daryl and Paul spent the next few days swimming in the lake, trekking a bit and moving around the neighbourhood. There was not a single residence within a one-mile radius of the cottage. The air was fresh and crisp. It wasn't too hot because of the abundance of trees around. They cooked together, showered together, and fucked on every surface available. At one point, Paul had decided that they did not need to wear anything at all. Daryl forced him to wear at least his boxers because he could only take so much of Paul's nakedness. If truth be told, Daryl felt like they were newlyweds on their honeymoon.

 

On the fourth day, Paul announced that he was going to do something special for Daryl. Daryl knew that no matter how many times he asked, his boyfriend would never tell him about his plans. So, he went into their bedroom and started reading a book. At first, he could not focus. But Paul was not coming back either. Daryl finally started reading the book with earnest intent. He was so engrossed in the book that he hardly noticed when Paul entered the bedroom. 

 

“Pay attention to me now.” Paul snatched the book from Daryl's hand and casually placed it on the bedside table.

 

“What’s in that bag?” Daryl chuckled as he watched Paul settling beside him with a small black leather duffle bag. He tried to look inside but Paul got off the bed with the bag.

 

“Hey, don't be so impatient. It's all for you. Told you it's a surprise.” Paul took two items out of the bag and zipped it before keeping it on the floor by the bed.

 

“Handcuffs and damn, what's the rope for?” Daryl grinned.

 

“The rope’s actually for an emergency, in case things go south.” Paul answered as a matter of factly. “But I'm gonna give you a choice. You want the rope or the cuffs?”

 

“What are you gonna do, baby?” Daryl grinned.

 

Paul quickly got onto the bed and straddled Daryl, his ass hovering over Daryl's crotch. “I said rope or cuffs?”

 

“Cuffs because the rope would take time and I really want to see right away where this is going.” Daryl answered impatiently.

 

Paul cuffed Daryl's hands to the headboard wordlessly. “Can you free yourself?” Paul rolled his hips teasingly.

 

“Not unless you let me.” Daryl found the entire situation extremely arousing. His cock was filling fast. Why hadn't they tried it before?

 

“Great.” Paul smiled a bit and leaned down to kiss his lover filthily. A shameless moan escaped Daryl's throat. He wanted to tangle his fingers in Paul's hair only to remember that his hands were cuffed as he twisted his wrists uselessly. In a few seconds, his cock was hard and leaking and Paul had not even touched him. Paul pulled away when they needed to breathe. Both of them were panting. They looked into each other's eyes, blue meeting bright green with love and desire. Paul suddenly sat up and took Daryl's cock out of his boxers. 

 

Daryl closed his eyes while Paul lubed him up. He was waiting for a usual flow of dirty talk which never came. He opened his eyes only to find his boyfriend staring down at him while he worked his cock, expression unreadable. 

 

Paul removed his boxers and straddled Daryl again, guiding the tip of his lover's cock to his already stretched entrance. He slowly pushed down onto it until he bottomed out, never taking his eyes off Daryl. He took some time to let his body adjust before he started fucking himself on Daryl's cock.

 

Daryl stared up at Paul mesmerisingly. Paul was being uncharacteristically quiet. Daryl had never once seen him this quiet, especially when they were having sex. That man usually had no filter. But it somewhat different this time. Daryl vaguely remembered the first time they had had sex. Paul had been riding him vigorously. No, it was definitely different this time. 

 

The way Paul was staring down at him, mouth slightly parted in pleasure, rolling and rotating his hips in a steady rhythm, the way he was panting and moaning softly, the intensity of love and adoration in his eyes for him, made Daryl realise that they weren't just fucking this time, they were making love. Daryl memorised every detail. He would never forget those eyes, staring at him with such love and devotion.

 

Daryl watched as his boyfriend’s rhythm became erratic.  Paul squeezed his eyes shut and threw his head back. It looked like he was straining to keep his eyes open and continue to maintain eye contact. He looked into Daryl's eyes again and furrowed his brows in concentration, whimpering and biting his bottom lip. 

 

Daryl knew Paul was gone even before his ass clenched around him and hot ropes of cum landed on his stomach. Daryl felt like his heart would stop when he released inside Paul, filling him up entirely. Paul stopped moving but he did not look like he was going to get himself off Daryl's cock. He lay resting his head over the older man rapidly beating heart, with his cock still inside him.

 

“Why are you so quiet today, sweetheart? I wanna hold you. Unlock these, please.” Daryl's fingers were aching to hold his man and soothe him. There was something unusual about Paul today, something unnatural.

 

Paul shook his head. “Daryl, listen to me very carefully.” He tilted his head a bit so that he could look at Daryl. “I've been waiting for a long time for this moment. I told you how much I want to mark you as mine, remember?”

 

Daryl nodded. “You don't have to do that, baby. I'm already yours, forever. You don't trust me? Do you think that I can love someone else? I'll never be able to be with anyone else. I don't want to live without you in my life.”

 

“I know. It's not you. If I don't do this, people will take you away from me.” Paul shifted and Daryl's soft cock slipped out of him. “You promised that you'd let me do it. You have to let me do it willingly or it won't have any effect. Why don't you understand?” Paul sat up, breathing hard.

 

“Paul, sweetheart, calm down. You want to do your ritual, yes? Do it. But remove these cuffs first. I promise I won't stop you.” The last thing Daryl wanted was for Paul to have a panic attack while he was handcuffed to the bed. 

 

Paul seemed to have calmed down a little at his words. He wiped the beads of sweat from Daryl's forehead and pulled his boxers up. “At first, I need to know how you'd react to it. I can't let you loose before that.”

 

Daryl was trying to stay calm. He had no idea what Paul was thinking. The younger man rummaged through the duffle bag and took a knife out. The blade was extremely sharp. Suddenly everything clicked into place as Daryl glanced at the knife. Paul's OCD, his childhood trauma, his fear of losing Daryl because he had not finished the rituals of marking him, his constant fear of Daryl refusing to be marked and most importantly the stabbing mark on almost every single thing in Paul's apartment, everything was connected. It was inevitable for them to end up in this situation. 

 

“You want to use that knife on me, Paul? Do you want to kill me?”

 

“What? No! I love you, Daryl. What I'm going to do is to make our bond eternal and you think I want to kill you? You shouldn't think so little of me.” Paul jumped on the bed and hovered over Daryl, one hand resting on Daryl's cheek gently and the other viciously gripping the knife.

 

“Baby, are you serious? Can you please calm down? A knife can't make our bond stronger. We can. We love each other and that's enough.” Daryl's voice was getting higher and anxious.

 

If only Daryl had known, he would have tried his best to treat Paul's condition. He did not even know if he would get out of this situation alive. He looked into Paul's eyes. They were still so bright and full of love. His face was as innocent as ever. Did he really believe what he was doing was necessary? Tears stung Daryl's eyes as he remembered each and every word of Paul that he had thought was just for fun.

 

“Why are you crying?” Paul cocked his head in confusion. “I can't do this unless you're willing to accept it. Do you need some time?” Paul placed the knife on the nightstand.

 

Daryl had so many questions. But there was one question that burned his throat like poison. “Did you really kill your ex-boyfriend?”

 

“Did you think I was lying?” Paul suddenly cupped Daryl's cheeks and smiled. “Are you upset because you thought I lied to you? I've never lied to you, baby.” Paul buried his face into Daryl's neck.

 

“Why?" Daryl's barely managed a choked whisper. "Why did you do it?”

 

“I wasn't going to mark him if that's what's worrying you. I never loved anyone like I love you. But that man had zero interest in fun. He couldn't even tolerate a bit of bloodplay. You know how much I like that.” Paul complained.

 

Of course, Daryl knew, at least now he did as memories of Paul getting aroused every time there was blood involved flooded his head. He did not know how much of Paul's confessions he could take. 

 

“Then, he called me a psycho. He said that I was insane and I needed to be locked up for good. Who talks like that to someone? That's not appropriate behaviour, right?” Paul paused to press a few kisses to Daryl's neck. “To top that, he used to treat me like those fucking relatives of mine. So, one morning, my patience broke and I broke his neck.” Paul hummed contently after justifying his point. “Do you, too, think I'm a bit loony? No, of course not. Why would you? You're not like them. You understand me.”

 

Daryl was staring at the ceiling. All this time, he had foolishly been under the impression that Paul had said those things jokingly. Never in his life could he imagine that Paul was serious. Daryl could not breathe. His chest felt tight. The way Paul talked about killing his boyfriend, made it clear that that was probably not his first murder. But Daryl did not need to know that. He did not have to know about that. The less he knew was better. His vision blurred. Paul's voice was fading gradually. Daryl felt absolutely lightheaded. Then everything whited out.

 

**____________________**

  
  
  
  
  



	10. Frustration

Daryl opened his eyes slowly. The cottage. Vacation. Paul. He looked around the room. His lover was not there. Instinctively, he tried to get up only to be restrained by the handcuffs. The handcuffs.

 

_ The handcuffs _ .

 

No, Daryl thought. Everything that happened right before he passed out hit him hard. It was not a nightmare. It was all real. “NO! PAUL!”

 

“I'm making breakfast, baby. Hold on.” Paul's cheerful voice came from the kitchen.

 

“LET ME OUT OF THESE FUCKING CUFFS, PAUL, I SWEAR TO GOD YOU'RE TESTING MY PATIENCE-”

 

Daryl broke off as Paul entered with some food on a plate. He used his upper body strength to sit up, his hands still in cuffs hanging from the headboard which he tried to pull in vain.

 

“Are you trying to escape? This is why I'm not letting you go. You just want to leave me.” Paul sat down on the edge of the bed. “You shouted at me, too.”

 

Daryl took a few deep breaths. This was not the time to lose his mind.  Anger would never get him out. He glanced at the plate of food. He definitely was hungry. He was out for more than twelve hours. His stomach growled.

 

“I'm not trying to escape. I need to use the toilet. Please, just let me go. I promise I won't try anything.” Daryl did not look at Paul while speaking. “I'm sorry I shouted.”

 

Paul considered this for a moment. “If you're trying to trick me, I'm not going to let you loose next time.” Paul unlocked the metal ring attached to the headboard without taking it off Daryl's wrist and locked it again in lightning speed. “These are staying.”

 

Daryl did not say anything. He walked stepped into the bathroom. The cuffs restricted his movements but he finished his morning routine, even took a shower and brushed his teeth, not knowing if Paul would let him do it later. He chastised himself for thinking like a prisoner. But he knew that even if he had a chance to escape, he could not. He would not. Paul really needed help. His mental health was worsening. If Daryl could somehow calm him down, he could get him treated. Wait, what was he doing?  _ That man murdered someone _ , a voice in Daryl's head screamed. Being in denial definitely would not help it. Daryl wanted to punch the wall until his knuckles bled. Why couldn't he hate that man? 

 

“You're taking too long. I don't like to wait, Daryl.” Paul whined at the door. He hadn't let Daryl lock the door. “The food's getting cold.” 

 

Daryl stepped out and sat down on the bed. Thousands of thoughts were running through his mind. Paul was holding a piece of toast for him to bite. Daryl glanced at Paul before taking a bite. The man was still smiling at him. 

 

“You don't like to wait. Yet you haven't started whatever it is that you've got planned.” Daryl took another bite as Paul would not let the piece of toast away from his lips until he took a bite.

 

“You're different. I can do everything for you.”

 

“Even if I hate you for what you did? What if I think you're sick like everyone else who hurt you? Would you fucking kill me then?” Daryl regretted saying it despite his situation as Paul's face mirrored a flash of hurt.

 

“Why are you so fixated on that point? Don't you want us to be together forever? Do you think I'm a sick murderer? That I kill everyone I meet if they don't listen to me?” Paul stood up and forced the rest of the toast into Daryl's mouth. “I only loathe the ones that don't treat others well and want what's mine.” Venom dripped from his voice as he gritted those words out. He left the room and locked the door from outside. 

 

“Paul, wait, where are you going?” Daryl walked up to the door. “Paul? Do you want to talk? Let's talk. Don't leave.” A few minutes later, Daryl heard the front door shut.  _ Shit _ .

 

Daryl walked over to the bedroom window. It was locked. Daryl could break the glass, right? Get away from this bloody murdering psycho. He needed to call the cops. They had agreed to keep their phones off on the first day. He didn't even have his phone with him. So, back to the other plan, Daryl would break the window, somehow get to the city and tell the cops everything. He did not need to put up with a murderer. That man was ruthless, unworthy of love and he did not deserve anyone's love, especially Daryl's.

 

Daryl laughed at himself as every part of him protested violently against his plan. He slid down the wall and sat down on the carpet, thinking. Growing up without his parents, Paul probably never had anyone in his life who loved him selflessly. If he had found one such person, his life would have been different. It was not his fault. He was not born this way. He had so much potential. Those fuckers ruined everything.

 

“He's not sick, I am. I can't hate him. I can't. I don't want to love him but I do. He's a part of me. I CAN'T HATE THAT BLOODY BASTARD!” Daryl screamed and sobbed as long as his voice permitted. 

 

At that moment, Daryl realised that he might not approve of Paul's ways but he could never live without him. He could not think of surviving without his Paul. But Daryl could not let Paul continue killing people off. He hated crime. There was no way he would put up with that. 

 

The only way was to change Paul's mindset and stop him from doing anything wrong ever again. That would work, Daryl thought. Whatever Paul had done before was in the past. Daryl was not there. His baby had no way of knowing what he was doing wrong. It was not Paul's fault, right? Now, he would help Paul change. It was not too late. He could do it for his lover. He would be patient with him and take care of him. Paul just needed some help. It would be okay. It definitely was not too late. They would be alright. 

  
  


**_______________________**

  
  
  



	11. Initiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is actually the beginning of the end. From this point onwards, expect graphic depictions of violence and of course, lunacy. If you're triggered by that, do not proceed. This story is only going to get worse so be warned. That being said, I'm honestly so happy that you wonderful people are reading my story. I love to read your comments and thank you for the kudos. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

When Daryl opened his eyes again it was late afternoon. He had been out for hours on the floor. His head felt heavy. Paul must have mixed something with the food, Daryl suspected. He sat up and placed his ear against the door. The quietness could mean that Paul had not returned yet. Still, Daryl could not be too sure. He shouted for the younger man twice. When no one answered Daryl panicked. Nobody knew that he would be here. There was no one who would actually look for him if he was not home for a few days. The very thought sent shivers down his spine. Daryl started screaming madly for Paul. The door promptly opened.

 

"You were asleep even five minutes ago." Paul was standing by the door with his arms crossed over his chest, a look of sheer irritation on his face. He closed the door behind him. "Don't scream like that. It scares me. I don't like when people are loud." He helped Daryl stand up and made him sit on the bed.

 

"Where did you go?" Daryl croaked out.

 

Paul disregarded the question. "Are you ready yet?" He asked impatiently.

 

"Paul, listen to me. You expect me to be angry, right? I am. I'm angry with myself for not making you feel safe and loved enough. But I'm not mad at you, baby. Whatever's done is done. You don't have to do anything like that ever again. I'll make sure of it. We can still make it work."

 

Paul studied Daryl for a moment. "You want to give it a try then?"

 

Daryl nodded. He definitely wanted to get out of this place and the horrific situation and get Paul treated. His boyfriend would be alright. Daryl would not give up. 

 

"Don't scream then, okay, baby?" Paul gave Daryl a warm smile while his hand yanked something out from the back of his denim shorts.

 

"Why would I-" Daryl broke off as he felt something cold being dragged down his bare chest. The cool sensation suddenly changed into a burning one. He looked down to see the long slash wound on his chest oozing blood. It happened so quickly that Daryl forgot how to react. When the wound started dripping blood he cried out and pressed his palm onto the wound. "Have you lost it? What the fuck are you doing?!"

 

"You're still fighting it? Remove your hand from there. I wanna carve my initials." Paul gritted his teeth. Why was Daryl being so stubborn? "You know what, fuck it. You've ruined that one. I'll have to try again. This time don't fucking talk." Paul pushed Daryl back onto the bed and pounced on him. He used his knife to make another gash onto the older man's stomach in one swift motion, deeper and longer than the previous one.

 

"Get off me, Paul." Daryl placed both of his palms on Paul's chest and shoved him back, his bloodied palms left his handprints on the younger man's white shirt. The impact made Paul tumble back a bit.

 

"You talked again? You don't understand this, now do you? Every time you talk, I'm gonna have to RESTART!" Paul's eyes looked extremely wild. "You wanna shout, Daryl? I'll give you a reason to." He gripped his knife tightly and sank it into Daryl's left bicep. "Like that, huh? See, I don't wanna hurt you. BUT YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE!" 

 

Daryl groaned in pain. The searing pain was making his head dizzy. He was not able to produce coherent thoughts.

 

"I should let you know that this is not a part of the ritual. This is your punishment for interrupting the process over and over again." Paul pulled the knife out and stabbed again exactly two inches away from the previous wound. "Talking, screaming, shouting, cursing won't complete the ritual, Daryl my love." Paul pulled the knife out and sniffed it fervently. "You need to be accepting. You need to be willing to take the bond. You need to be QUIET."

 

Daryl was breathing hard. He had no idea how much he could tolerate without breaking down. He tried to take the knife from Paul but couldn't put up much fight with his hands in cuffs. Paul laughed and cuffed him to the bedpost again. Daryl sat with his back against the bedpost. The wounds were bleeding. He looked up to find Paul staring at them with admiration.

 

"The wounds look gorgeous, right?" The first day I saw you, I wanted to know what it'd feel like to sink my knife into those glorious biceps." Paul spoke dreamily. "It feels divine, you should know that. Now, that reminds me, I haven't tried the other one." Paul swiped his fingers over the blade of the knife and licked the blood off them. "You don't have to hold back your distracting groans. We can always try the bonding process later. This could be our warm-up, just to make you used to it, so you know how to behave." Paul could not contain the ecstatic feelings from affecting his tone. "Oh, I love this game! Now, be my good Daryl and show me the other bicep."

 

**_______________________**

 

"You blacked out for a minute there. You got me so worried, baby." Paul was sitting on the other side of the bed cross-legged, swaying back and forth like a child. "Judging by how much you're bleeding right now, I should probably stitch you up." Paul finally got off the bed. "But then again, what's the use of slashing if you're gonna just stitch it up immediately? That's absurd."

 

Daryl was breathing slowly. Breathing itself seemed to increase the pain. The sight of his own bloodied arms and torso made his heart rate increase rapidly. He focused on his breathing. He was not going to give up yet, not until he had the last bit of his sanity intact. Paul's voice brought his mind back to reality again.

 

"I think you need a break now. You seem to be a bit tired. We need to pause our fun for a while." Paul wiped his face, smearing the blood on his hand on his forehead. The man seemed completely unfazed by it. "Now, please cheer up. I've got you a present."

 

"This is fucking-" Daryl started.

 

"You don't have to do anything, Daryl. Hold on, I'm gonna bring your present right here." Paul started humming.

 

As soon as Paul left, Daryl dared to look at his wounds again. They looked bad. He needed to put pressure on them immediately but he had absolutely no way to do that at that moment. Never in his life had he thought that he would be in a situation where his emotional wound would be more agonising than his physical wounds. The emotional turmoil he was going through was far worse than those stab wounds. He knew he was not fighting Paul wholeheartedly. Suddenly, a man was shoved into the room. He fell face first onto the floor. Just when Daryl wondered why the man let himself fall his eyes fell on the man's back. The man's hands were tied behind his back with a rope. 

 

"Just your neighbourhood pervert, Eric." Paul laughed heartily.

 

No. This was not happening. A part of Daryl's mind had been calculating how revocable the situation still was, how they could still start afresh and another part of him was hating himself for it, screaming inside his head to make him see things clearly. But the present situation was spiralling towards the point of no return. Daryl's heart clenched in fear of what was about to happen in that room.

 

"Paul, Paul, listen to me-"

 

"He's been watching us for a month, Daryl." Paul kicked Eric's side hard before grabbing the back of his neck and making him sit. "He's been watching  _ you _ ."

 

"Paul, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't." If Daryl had thought he was agitated before, he did not know how to describe what he was feeling at that time. He knew that Paul had chosen to ignore him completely. His boyfriend knelt down beside Eric and removed the duct tape from his mouth. To Daryl's utter surprise, Eric did not shout for help.

 

"So, Mr. Stealth Mode, what were you thinking? Is perving on other people's lovers your hobby?" Paul's voice was soft and calm. Eric remained quiet.

 

"He said that he  _ liked  _ watching us. He said that he wants you.  Paul chuckled a bit and grabbed Eric's chin roughly. "He... fucking... wants... you..." Paul punctuated each word with a solid punch to Eric's jaws. 

 

Eric spat out blood from his mouth. "Daryl, please save yourself. This nutcase would ruin your life."

 

"Nutcase, huh? Am I though?" Paul reached around to grab Eric's fingers. "Didn't you tell me that you want to be in my place? And  _ I'm _ a nutcase for showing my baby what a pervert you are?" 

 

Daryl opened his mouth to say something but he could not. He did not know what he should say. Eric was not denying anything either.

 

Paul grabbed two of Eric's fingers and twisted them until the bones cracked. "You're a pervert. Pervert. Perving on my baby." Paul grabbed the other two fingers and bent them in the opposite direction. "I'm about to make you suffer, pervert. I'm gonna save Daryl from all the perverts."

 

Eric's cries echoed in the otherwise quiet cottage as Paul continued his ministrations until the last of the other man's fingers were broken.

 

Eric's screams and Daryl's warnings did not affect Paul one bit. Daryl probably did not realise Eric's true intentions, Paul thought, Why would he ask him to stop otherwise? He looked at Daryl over his shoulders. "Aren't you happy that I'm making this sick bastard pay?"

 

"This is not how to deal with such things. Please stop. Call an ambulance before it's too late." Daryl was trying to get out of the cuff so hard that they had started to cut through his wrists. He was not sure how he managed to keep his voice calm. Losing himself would do no good to anyone present in the room. That would only serve to make the already fucked up situation even worse.

 

"You're too good for this world, Daryl. See, that's why I'm doing the dirty work so that your conscience is clear. As for me, I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. No one dares to think of owning what's mine and go unscathed." 

 

**_______________________**

 


	12. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit got real!

Eric had stopped screaming. Daryl refused to eat anything. Paul tried to forcefully shove food into his mouth but he spat everything out.

 

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why wouldn't you eat when I spent hours in the kitchen trying to make what you like?" Paul placed the plate on his lap.

 

"He just can't wrap his head around the fact that his boyfriend is a murdering psycho." Eric chuckled from the floor. "He's probably still in denial."

 

Paul gritted his teeth and did not look away from Daryl. "You didn't like the taste, baby? I can make you something else."

 

"Daryl, he's beyond salvation. You can't save him anymore. You need to save yourself." Eric was staring at the couple on the bed.

 

"STOP FLIRTING WITH MY BOYFRIEND!" Paul glared at Eric before turning to Daryl again. "Did you see that? He's trying to create a rift between us. He wants to break us. You don't want that, do you?" 

 

"He's not doing anything. Please stop this madness." Daryl refused to look at Paul.

 

"Finally, some sense has been knocked into you. Thank goodness for that." Eric looked a bit hopeful. "You can't really reason with such a lunatic."

 

Paul did not like to be mad, not even a little bit. He always tried his best not to let tough situations get the better of him. But this was more difficult than he had thought it would be. The pervert was corrupting his boyfriend in his presence and his boyfriend seemed to side with the pervert, and not Paul who risked everything for Daryl. He cupped Daryl's cheeks and forced him to look at himself.

 

"He is calling me names and you're not saying anything, baby. You do know how much I hate those words." Paul was deeply hurt. "You know how much those words hurt me. I need your love."

 

Daryl could easily let himself be lost in those eyes, full of love and sadness. Paul was quick to press a soft kiss. For a moment Daryl forgot where he was. It was tempting to respond to the sweet kiss. No. Not until shit got sorted. 

 

Paul kissed his lover for a moment in vain. A rush of deep pain pierced through his heart. Daryl was not responding at all. He pulled back slowly in disbelief.

 

"Of all the times I've watched you two, this might be the only time I didn't feel jealous of you, Paul Rovia. Daryl's finally realised his mistake. You're over, Rovia." Eric was laughing in the background. 

 

It was breaking Daryl's heart to see that look on his lover's face. He had promised himself that he would never let Paul down. But there was no other way to make the younger man understand that he did not approve of his ways and that he should stop.

 

"Are you listening to him? He's sitting right there, admitting things he's done, insulting me again and again and you're just sitting here quietly." Paul was close to begging.

 

"What do you want me to say? Clearly, you've got some plans in your head that you know very well I would never support. You're dragging it too far, Paul." Daryl answered impatiently.

 

"You don't even want to look me in the eye anymore, Daryl? He's laughing at us, at me, and now you want to support  _ that man _ ?" Paul's eyes got teary. He felt betrayed. The man he loved so much and was trying to save from the pervert was refusing him.

 

"I wish I knew what a deranged lost cause your boyfriend has been. I could save you, you know." Eric smiled at Daryl, ignoring his physical pain.

 

The more Paul looked from Daryl to Eric, the more deeply wounded his feelings got. Not once did Daryl ask Eric to shut up, he did not even try to understand why Paul had no way but to punish Eric. Daryl and Paul were lovers. They were meant to stand by each other. Paul was doing his part. Why was Daryl backing away? Paul could not stop the tears of anger, hurt, and jealousy. "DO YOU EVEN LOVE ME, DARYL?"

 

Daryl was quiet. It looked like he did not know how to talk. 

 

"You have to ask? He doesn't love you. Hell, he's probably thinking how to get rid of you. You don't go easily, do you?" Eric was feeling bold seeing his captor lose it.

 

"Are you going to oppose him at all, Daryl? Do you know how much it hurts to see you turning away from me? Haven't I loved you enough?" Tears rolled down Paul's cheeks as he stared at Daryl who had his gaze fixed on Eric. "Baby? Why are you looking at him? He's not good. He's trying to come between us. I'm not lying. He just admitted. You're making a mistake." Paul sobbed. 

 

"No, Rovia, he's trying to make up for his mistakes. The worst mistake of his life is letting you into his life." Eric smirked. "Now, keeping us here won't get you your Daryl back. He's not yours anymore. I'll look after him, I promise you. He'll be better off without you."

 

"You…" Paul slowly got off the bed and walked over to where Eric was sitting up against the wall. "Just because nobody's asking you to shut the fuck up doesn't mean you'd open your mouth. I brought you here only for Daryl to know what a cheap warp you are. I think your purpose here is done."

 

"You're wrong, Rovia. My purpose is to show Daryl why he should've avoided you. He could save himself from the heartbreak." Eric spoke defiantly. "But, as I said, I'm here now."

 

"STOP TALKING ABOUT BREAKING US APART. STOP TALKING LIKE HE'S YOURS." Paul yanked out a narrow chisel from his pocket. "AND YES, STOP INSULTING ME."

 

"Torturing me won't help you. Daryl would hate you, even more, you crazed maniac." Eric laughed wildly.

 

"We'll see about that." Paul smiled coldly. "I can't fathom how you can fucking talk with all of your fingers broken. Let's see how you like being stabbed. Don't worry, I'll keep you alive to make sure you know what pain you've caused us." He looked at Daryl. "I'm not using  _ our _ knife, baby, I'm not marking him. Don't feel bad, okay?"

 

Daryl watched Paul stabbing Eric with the chisel. 

 

Once. 

 

The younger man looked happy doing it. As a matter of fact, he did not look like he was crying his eyes out just a minute ago. The carpet was soaking in all the fresh blood.

 

Twice.

 

Daryl felt paralysed. He could not think of anything more than stopping Paul somehow. What was being done to Eric would soon be done to him. He was already bleeding to death. He would not survive another wound. He would analyse Eric's character traits later. He would think about his own morality later. He would think about what needs to be done to Paul later.

 

Thrice.

 

**_______________________**

 

Stopping Paul at all costs was Daryl's top priority if he wanted to save their lives. 

 

Paul stopped and looked back when he heard Daryl call his name. Daryl was looking at him. He was not mad at Paul anymore. 

 

"Leave him and come here. We'll see what to do about him afterwards." Daryl suggested.

 

Paul shook his head and punched Eric hard in the stomach, making him curl up on himself and groaning miserably. 

 

"Baby? You don't want to listen to me?" Daryl's voice was starting to shake.

 

"Just a minute. He's not suffering enough." Paul untied the ropes from around the other man's wrists and laughed seizing those broken fingers. "He needs a few final touches." 

 

Daryl's guts twisted. He tried his best to maintain a forced smile. "Don't kill him now, Paul."

 

"Later, then?" Paul grinned. "Alright." He hummed as he made Eric sit up a bit and used his knee to hit the other man's shoulder hard. "That should pop the ball. Now, you can wallow in your misery until I decide to release you from all your sufferings." He stood up straight but did not move.

 

"Come here, please." Daryl urged on.

 

"You made me cry. I brought you the psycho. But you were mad at me. You were siding with him. Can't you see what he is?"

 

"I know. I will make it up to you." Daryl's throat felt constricted.

 

"How?"

 

"Don't you want to finish what you started?"

 

"Is this a trick?"

 

Daryl took a shaky breath and shook his head. "Would you please come here and listen to me before you start?"

 

Paul came closer to Daryl gingerly. Daryl was smiling at him. "You hurt me." Paul made a face.

 

"Come here. I want to hold you."

 

It was a bit difficult to hug Daryl with his hands cuffed to the bed. But Daryl raised one of his bloody arms a bit, making a loop for Paul to get in and Paul was in Daryl's arms. Daryl was still only in his boxers and winced when Paul's t-shirt rubbed against the lacerations on his torso. He took a deep breath.

 

"I'm sorry, Paul. This is for the best." 

 

Before Paul could make out what was happening, Daryl used his arms to choke Paul enough to make him pass out. He wrapped his legs around the younger man's torso, locking both of his arms. At that moment, Daryl realised that he had not tried to actually put up a fight against Paul before.

 

Once Paul was choked unconscious, Daryl used his legs to lay him on the bed. He used his feet to search his boyfriend's pockets for the key. Taking it out of the pocket seemed nothing compared to holding the key in between his teeth to unlock the cuffs. He knew Paul would not remain unconscious for a long time. He needed to hurry up. Daryl was breathing hard and his head felt dizzy. When he finally got himself out of the cuffs, Paul was stirring already.

 

Daryl's joints felt numb being in the same position for hours. The knife. He needed to hide it first. Paul would not use another knife for whatever madness he had planned. Just when he started dragged himself across the bed to get to the nightstand he felt Paul's eyes on him. He looked down to see Paul looking at him, eyes surprised.

 

"Did you just try to choke me?" Paul was rubbing his throat. "You want to take your Eric and get away from here? Leaving  _ me _ ?" Paul sat up straight. 

 

Daryl rolled down the low bed and let himself fall onto the carpet. This was it. He was going to die. "Don't come near me."

 

"What?!" Paul croaked out.

 

"You're not well, Paul. You need help." 

 

"Don't talk like that, baby. What I'm doing is for you. I've never loved anyone like this before. Please don't do this to me." Paul's voice had the honesty that made Daryl look at him.

 

"I tried everything. There's nothing short of a good facility can help you out. I thought I'd be with you. But it's too late now. I don't think I can make it." Daryl was already feeling light-headed due to blood loss.

 

"Don't hate me, please. You said you'd never hate me. I opened up to you as I'd never done before. I trusted you, Daryl. How can you do this to me?" Paul sobbed and knelt down beside his lover.

 

"I said  _ don't touch me _ !" Daryl swatted Paul's hand away harshly when the younger man tried to touch his face. "Stay away from me. I don't want to see you anymore." 

 

"I've heard all these things countless times." Paul's voice shook with emotion. "But it never hurt this much." 

 

"Do you think I still believe someone like you?" Daryl spat those words out.

 

"I've only ever wanted you. I just wanted to make you mine forever. You didn't keep your promise. You're like everyone else. You never understood me. But you know what, Daryl, even if you never let me complete the bond, you'll always be mine." Paul looked at Daryl defiantly, broken but determined.

 

Daryl's emotional turbulence had reached its highest point. The more Paul talked about his love the angrier Daryl got. The violent urge to hurt Paul filled his core. He was past the point of shrugging it off. He wanted Paul to see what it was to feel beaten and devastated. Daryl wanted his lover to know the pain of heartbreak. Venom left his mouth before the sober part of him even kicked in.

 

"You don't fucking get it, right? Do you want me to spell it out for you? You're insane, Paul. You can never love. Not me, not anyone else. You're obsessed with your poisonous ideas. You're just a murderer. You kill people and you seek pleasure out of it. You've played me and ruined my life. I regret ever loving you. I don't want anything to do with you, even if you kill me for it. I'm not scared of you. I know I'm not going to make it out alive but I'm not going to let you ruin anyone else's life. I'll make sure you get what you deserve, or I'll die trying."

 

Daryl expected Paul to lunge at him but the younger man just sat there like an ancient stone statue, looking utterly lost. He was staring at Daryl as if Daryl was breaking his trust as if Daryl was letting him down, as if Daryl had taken everything away from him. The younger man's eyes widened. The defeated look on his face was so intense that Daryl felt that the weight of that look was crushing his soul. Daryl vaguely felt like he was on the verge of losing something important. Paul's love? Trust? His hopes and dreams? 

 

"You're letting me go for  _ him _ ?" Paul pointed at Eric's unconscious form incredulously. "You'll let me go? You'll let your love go? I should've killed him before bringing him here. You're so stubborn."

 

A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through Daryl's entire body. He grabbed Paul's hair and twisted it around his hand securing the grip. "You're not killing anyone ever. Not on my watch."

 

"This is the second time you've deliberately hurt me for that bastard. You'd rather let your lover suffer, right? My love's not enough for you, Daryl-"

 

"DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT LOVE EVER AGAIN!" 

 

Daryl bumped Paul's head against the wall.

 

**_______________________**

 


	13. Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the shortest one. This one's really important as it's entirely from Daryl's POV. This is how he remembers the event. I just had to keep this one a separate chapter.

Daryl bumped Paul's head against the wall and let go of his hair. Paul's head fell onto his lap face-first. 

 

Daryl kept on screaming about how sick Paul was behaving. Ultimately, after a few minutes, he calmed down.

 

"You knocked him out? That's good. We need to get out of here quickly." A voice whispered from behind Daryl.

 

Daryl swiftly turned his head. Eric was sitting up. Did he fucking relocate his shoulders? When? "Eric? You don't seem to be that hurt? Were you pretending all along?"

 

"Now's not the time to ask questions. Don't worry we're not leaving your lunatic here like this." Eric looked around. "Why don't you go get the first aid kit?"

 

Daryl stared at Eric blankly for a moment and placed Paul's head on the carpet tenderly. Then he rushed towards the bathroom to get the kit. When he stepped out of the bathroom he stopped dead in his tracks. Eric was sitting by the wall glaring at Paul. 

 

"What the hell are you doing?"

 

"I'm sorry, Daryl. This needs to be done."  

 

"Get the hell away from him, I'm warning you, Eric. If you don't let him go, I swear I'll hurt you."

 

"Why are you defending him now? You yourself hit him not a few minutes ago. You obviously didn't hit him hard enough. He's still breathing." Eric grabbed Paul's hair the way Daryl did a few minutes ago. "Do we want that?"

 

"I won't ask you again. Let him go. Now." 

 

"You saw what he's capable of. He's a danger to us. I thought you realised that. Looks like I need to take matters into my own hands." Eric gripped Paul's hair tighter and bashed his forehead against the wall hard. 

 

"NO! STOP!" Daryl felt like his heart would burst out of his chest.

 

He threw the kit on the bed and rushed to help his boyfriend. By the time he grabbed Eric by his neck and shoved him aside, the other man had already managed to hit Paul one more time. Daryl knelt down and placed his man's head on his lap cautiously.

 

Paul had not moved. There was blood on Daryl's thighs.

 

But his thighs were not wounded. His heart almost paused as dread filled his head. He slowly turned Paul's head. Blood was dripping down the younger man's forehead and nose. No. 

 

_ Please, no _ .

 

Daryl felt the ground below him going soft. The pain in his wounds vanished. He picked up his boyfriend's unresponsive body and gently laid him on the bed. The white bedsheet was already bloodstained. When Daryl returned from the bathroom with the first aid kit, the part of the bedsheet where Paul's head was had become soaked. Eric was nowhere to be seen. But Daryl did not have time for anything else at that moment.

 

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... God, no! Baby... Baby, please open your eyes… Please open your eyes once. I'm sorry... I never meant what I said. God, don't do this to me… What do I do?... Please, not him, not this..." Daryl knew first aid was useless at this point. Paul needed immediate medical attention. Phone, where were their phones? Paul did not have his in his pocket. Daryl frantically searched for his phone everywhere. There were multicoloured dots in his line of vision. No, he had to stay conscious for Paul. It'd be too late for his lover otherwise. 

 

What had he done? He not only hit his lover but also let him be fatally wounded by a creep. So much for calling the younger man a murderer whereas he was merely trying to save him. Daryl had been so blind all this time. He deliberately hurt the love of his life, emotionally and physically. He encouraged the actual psycho to hurt Paul. His man got hurt because of him. It was entirely his fault. He let this happen. He was the criminal, not his boyfriend. There was a phone on the living room couch. Daryl staggered towards the couch, swaying a little. The multicoloured dots were starting to flood his vision.

 

"Need to… call 911… Paul, hold on…" All of a sudden, Daryl felt like someone hit him from behind. His body dropped on the living room floor that very moment. As darkness slowly claimed his mind, he knew that he had failed his lover.

 

**_______________________**


	14. Restless

Daryl blinked open his eyes and found himself lying on the living room floor, a bit cleaner and bandaged. The constant wailing of sirens and the sound of heavy footsteps in the driveway brought him back to his senses. It was just after dawn. He sat up quickly. His joints and muscles protested heavily. At once, events from the previous night whacked him on the head. 

 

_ Shit. Paul. Paul was right. He had been a stupid fucking idiot the whole time. _

 

Two men in uniform walked in. The taller one narrowed his eyes when he noticed Daryl on the floor. The shorter one walked towards him, eyes scanning the surroundings. 

 

"I'm Rick Grimes, Sheriff's Deputy. You must be Mr. Dixon." The shorter man spoke softly, kneeling down beside Daryl. "We got your emergency call. Would you like to drink some water?"

 

Daryl shook his head violently. "I'm not important. Please, you have to help Paul. He's injured. He's been bleeding a lot. God knows where that bastard took him. Please-"

 

"Please calm down, sir. Your wounds look extremely bad. The bandages aren't even tight. You've gone pale." The taller one said from across the room. "I'm checking with the ambulance. Should be here any minute."

 

"Thank you, Shane." Rick never looked away from Daryl. "We're here now. It's alright. You're safe."

 

Exhaustion and blood loss finally started affecting Daryl's body with a vengeance. He had been ignoring his pain deliberately for Paul's sake. But his body could bear only so much emotional and physical abuse. Why were the officers not going after Eric? Daryl was not important. His life was nothing compared to Paul's. They needed to save Paul. He tried to open his mouth but no words came out. He vaguely saw more people rushing in. They were asking him something but Daryl could not understand anything. Their faces got blurry. Daryl felt like he was flying. Maybe if he could fly high enough, he would see where Paul was.

  
  


**_______________________**

  
  


"No, absolutely not!" Dr. Hershel Greene stopped walking and turned abruptly, making the two men behind him almost walk into him. "Stop following me around like lost puppies. I'm not going to allow you two to talk to him."

 

"One of us?" Rick asked hopefully.

 

"Don't use your sass on me, young man." Hershel narrowed his eyes. "Besides, he's in a state of deep shock. I don't believe he'll be much of a help."

 

"We need something to start." Shane pleaded. "Rick and I have already figured out the most part but getting it confirmed can save another life and a criminal arrested."

 

"He'll be out for a couple of hours. I'll check on him and decide. No promises." A nurse came and whispered softly to him. "I'll let you know. You two can wait if you have nothing else to do at the moment. Now, excuse me." The nurse led the doctor away.

 

"Let's do a recap. What about the GPS location?" Rick asked quietly as they headed for the waiting area.

 

"This boyfriend, Paul… His last location was Daryl's house. We found only two phones. One is Daryl's."

 

"The other one is Eric's. We have Daryl's phone, but not Paul's. Maybe it's still with him. From whatever Daryl told us before he passed out it's clear that Eric took him somewhere." Rick led Shane to the far end of the waiting area.

 

"I think Eric left his phone in a haste. Forensics are trying to find out what's in it." Shane sat down. "Did you see this guy's condition? The bedroom looked like a scene from the movie Saw. I don't wanna know what happened to the couple. I mean I do, but I don't."

 

"We have to wait until either Daryl wakes up or the forensics get the data from Eric's phone." Shane rubbed his face agitatedly. "What did you tell me this morning? We need some adventure, right? Is this up to the mark?"

  
  


**_______________________**

  
  


"GODDAMNIT, ERIC, STOP! HE NEEDS A DOCTOR! HE'S GOING TO DIE. STOP!" Daryl screamed at the top of his lungs and opened his eyes. Where was he? The ceiling was bright. Daryl squinted until his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked around. A hospital. Did they find Paul? How long was he unconscious? A nurse came running.

 

"Have you seen my boyfriend? He's hurt. Is he alright now?" Daryl eyed each cannula. "Where's he?" He looked up at the nurse.

 

"Sir, please calm down. Did you have a nightmare? Do you need the doctor?"

 

"I don't need any fucking doctor. Where's Paul?" Daryl pulled at the bandage securing the cannula housing the saline tube in his left hand and removed it. "Never mind. I'll go find him."

 

The nurse did not wait. She pressed the call button and asked for Dr. Greene. When she turned towards Daryl again, he was already onto his right hand.

 

"Everything is alright, sir. Dr. Greene is coming. You can ask him." 

 

"Do you think I'm a fucking idiot? Don't sweet-talk me, sunshine. If you bring that injection you're preparing near me, I'll remove this dumb thing." Daryl was touching the catheter hub with the blood transfusion tube attached to his forearm. "I don't need anything Paul's not getting."

 

The nurse silently kept the syringe on a tray and raised her hands in surrender glancing at the door helplessly.

 

**_______________________**

  
  


Rick and Shane shared a look before entering the Principal's room. The number plate of Paul's car led them there. 

 

"Please come in, Officers." Principal Carol Peletier smiled warmly. "Is everything alright? I rarely get a call from a Sheriff's Deputy."

 

"I'm afraid it's bad news, Ma'am. Do you know any Paul Rovia?" Shane asked.

 

"Of course! He's been working here for over a year now. Oh god, is he okay? Carol's smile vanished entirely. "Is Daryl okay?"

 

"What?!" Rick and Shane spoke at the same time. "You know Daryl? Daryl Dixon?" 

 

Carol nodded. "He started last month. They never really told anyone about their relationship but I just knew. But what's the matter? What happened?" Carol looked agitated. 

 

"I'm afraid before we tell you anything we need to ask you some questions. We need your complete cooperation. Can you do that, Ma'am?" Rick asked politely. "We need to know about them. Tell us everything you know in detail."

 

Carol sighed heavily.

  
  


**_______________________**

  
  


"Daryl?" A calm voice called Daryl. He glanced at the door. A kind-looking old man walked up to his bed. Dr. H. Greene, the name tag read. "You do realise that you need to remain strong for your man and yourself, don't you? You can't possibly lose it now, right?"

 

Daryl just stared at Hershel.

 

"You've got two options. One, you keep on shouting and protesting and other nurses come in here to forcefully put you to sleep. Or, two, you let me get you back on saline again and you lie down and tell me what's bothering you. I'll listen to you and make sure what you want is done, I promise." Hershel reached out and patted Daryl's back gently.

 

Daryl's breathing returned to normal slowly. He let the nurse help him lie down. He watched his doctor working with the saline tube.

 

"Have they found Paul?"

 

"I'm afraid they haven't, son. I've talked to the officers who brought you here." Hershel attached a new tube. He gestured for the nurse to leave them alone.

 

"I want to talk to the officers. Please, let me talk to them. They'll find out more about Eric even without my help but it might be too late for Paul." Daryl tried to fight his emotions. "I don't know what to do…"

 

Hershel considered this. "Alright. I'll let them know but you have to promise me that you won't try to escape. It won't do anyone any good. A nurse will be here at all times. Think positively." Hershel advised. He instructed the nurse something in a low voice before leaving the room.

 

**_______________________**

  
  


Rick and Shane were already on their way when they got the call from Hershel. They were directed to meet him before they met Daryl. 

 

"I'm only allowing this because this may calm the man down. He's in an extremely vulnerable state." Hershel spoke sternly as he looked from Rick to Shane. "Do not, under any circumstances, force him to remember something he normally can't. His mental state is far worse than his physical state and that's saying something." 

 

"We won't, doctor." Shane answered quickly. 

 

"I'll be there. You'll need to leave immediately if at any point I deem him unfit for continuing the conversation." 

 

"We understand completely. We won't pressurise him at all. Whatever he wants to tell us would be enough for us." Rick agreed.

 

Hershel took a deep breath and led the two officers inside Daryl's room. The moment Daryl saw the officers he tried to sit up only to be discouraged by Hershel. 

 

"How are you now, Mr. Dixon?" Rick asked gently.

 

"I feel fine. I don't know why they're keeping me here." Daryl looked irritated. "I could go with you while you search for-"

 

"We assure you, we're doing our best." Shane interrupted Daryl. "We'll get your man back to you."

 

"Do you remember what happened? Do you want to tell us?" Rick asked calmly.

 

Of course, Daryl remembered everything. He and Paul were extremely happy until Eric showed up. He wanted to see that man rotting in jail forever. "My neighbour Eric's been stalking us for a few weeks. I had no idea. Paul found out the day we came here. I should've believed him when he warned me about Eric." Daryl spoke too fast. "Now that I think of it, that fucker has always been creepy, too soft and self-restrained to be real."

 

"Why didn't you trust your boyfriend's judgement when-" Rick started.

 

"I was a dumb moron. I ignored his warnings. Eric was there at the cottage. He followed us. Paul caught him lurking. Son of a bitch was constantly riling him up, trying to get him to react, trying to break us apart, constantly emphasising on how I needed to throw Paul out of my life." Daryl buried his face in his hands. 

 

"My baby... I didn't trust my baby at all, I even hit him earlier because he charged at Eric. He was only trying to save me. I hit my baby for that sick bastard. I just wanted to stop Paul from doing anything he'd regret later." Daryl was sobbing at this point. "I didn't trust him and now he's gone. I realised when it was too late."

 

"I think that you two should leave now-" Hershel started but Daryl cut him off.

 

"No, I need to tell them. I can't give up on Paul. I promised him." Daryl swallowed hard. 

 

Shane glanced at Hershel and looked down at Daryl. "You had said that this Eric took him somewhere. What did you see?"

 

"Before I could patch him up or call an ambulance, Eric had knocked me out. But when I woke up I was bandaged. Paul must have done it. He must have been able to knock that bastard out when he regained consciousness. But he was bleeding so much from before. Eric had hurt his head frenziedly, repeatedly. Obviously, he couldn't put up a fight much longer afterwards. Eric took advantage of that and tortured him more." Daryl paused for a moment. 

 

"So, when I woke up I heard voices in the driveway. I made a dash for the front door. There was a black hatchback. Fucking Eric had Paul inside. Paul was barely resisting. He seemed to be in a trance. I'd barely reached Paul's window when Eric drove away. I just got a glance at Paul. There was blood everywhere… his face… it was red… It wasn't like that last night. God knows what Eric had been doing to my baby. He looked like he was violently tortured." Daryl was hyperventilating.

 

He suddenly sat up and grabbed the front of Rick's shirt. "Please get him back. I couldn't follow them. Flat tyre, Eric's doing. He'll die. Eric will kill him. He's not in the state to save himself. He's fatally injured. You have to get my baby back. He needs a doctor."

 

"I think that's enough." Hershel spoke sternly. He prepared an injection quickly and pushed it into Daryl's saline bag while the nurse and the two officers struggled to hold him down. Within a couple of minutes, Daryl was in deep sleep.

 

"Does he have any relatives?" Hershel asked as he removed his gloves.

 

"An older brother, but he's been out of the country. He's got some shady business going on. It'll take time to get in touch with him." Shane provided scratching the back of his neck. "He's got some good friends at work. They willingly agreed to look after him."

 

Hershel nodded solemnly. "We can't actually say how this incident will affect him. Everyone deals with such situations differently." 

 

"What do you mean, doctor?" Rick was curious.

 

"All I'm saying is that we can never be sure how the shock has affected his brain. It doesn't leave any physical changes. Some people have their memories warped, they forget a major part of the event and their brain shows them a different one, some people get extremely violent, some lose the ability of speech." Hershel removed his spectacles and pinched the bridge of his nose. "In the worst-case scenario, some can get schizophrenic. It's possible for one to develop one, a few or all of the above.

 

"Schizophrenia?" Shane mumbled.

 

"That's the worst. We can treat it but it'll never be cured. Things get worse when one starts showing signs of social withdrawal, repetitive movements and compulsive behaviour, self-mutilation and most importantly, hallucination. A schizophrenic patient can see, feel, hear things that aren't even there. But to them, they're very much real." Hershel cleaned his spectacles and wore them again. "The only problem is that we can't tell what's going on in someone's mind. We can't treat the condition unless the patient willingly opens up to us."

 

The two officers looked at each other in horror.

 

**_______________________**

  
  
  
  
  



	15. Reconnaissance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay again. Work has been killing me. I've finally got a few days off. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

"Paul's been working there for over a year but no one knows anything about his personal life. Everyone said he's calm and always polite but at the same time nobody knows him that closely other than Daryl." Rick pondered as he and Shane left Daryl's room and took the stairs instead of the elevator to discuss the matter privately.

 

"A loner. The principal did mention about his childhood. That woman knows shit no one else does. It's creepy." Shane scratched his scruff. 

 

"So, what do we have right now? What are we working with?"

 

"Well, for starters, we've got the crime scene at the cottage. Daryl's narrative and what we've seen in the bedroom do match." Shane answered quickly.

 

"The ropes, the cuffs… all the blood… there's no doubt about the fact that the couple were tortured brutally. If such is Daryl's state, god save the other man." Rick said solemnly.

 

"It's pretty clear that Eric had a grudge against Paul. But why? Unrequited love? Attraction? We need more information. We need something solid." As soon as Shane finished talking, he got an urgent call from the forensics department. The two officers left the hospital building immediately.

 

**____________________**

 

"Holy fucking shit! You two found some real shit this time." The forensic science technician shouted excitedly when he saw Rick and Shane entering his office.

 

"He's cursing. That means it's good news." Shane chuckled.

 

"Well, part of it is really gore but there are spicy bits too which I rarely get on this job." The technician grinned. "So, which one first?"

 

"Let's save the spicy bits for later." Rick answered impatiently. "Come on, tell us about the gory bit first."

 

"Ooh, kinky!" The technician smirked.

 

"Shut up, Glenn!" Both the officers said at once.

 

"Spoilsport!" Glenn stuck his tongue out. "Okay, the gruesome stuff first. The blood on the wall is Paul's. The hit, I'm sorry, the hits were pretty solid. It's quite unimaginable what condition that man might be in right now."

 

"And the blood on the bedsheets?" Shane inquired.

 

"Both Daryl and Paul's."

 

"What about Eric?" Rick's curiosity piqued.

 

"I was coming to that. He's the one to have lost the least amount of blood. We found a wood carving chisel with Eric's blood and Paul's fingerprints on it." Glenn held up the tool, sealed inside a transparent plastic bag. "As you can see, it can't cut in too deep. He was probably using it to hold Eric off, protecting his boyfriend and himself."

 

"I'm sorry but this tool can't be the one that was used on Daryl. The stab wounds were really deep. It had to be a long sharp knife." Rick examined the chisel carefully. There were deep furrows in his brows.

 

"That's one of the few things I can't wrap my head around. We didn't find any knives with Daryl's blood on them. In fact, there wasn't a single knife anywhere that would've matched the wound." Glenn murmured distractedly as he checked some reports.

 

"The only explanation is that Eric has it. Eric had been waiting for such an opportunity. He followed the couple to the secluded cottage, there were heated arguments which led to the warzone situation. He tortured the couple, knocked Daryl unconscious, abused Paul some more and took him away." Shane plopped down in a chair. 

 

"Don't be so disheartened yet, my gloomy gentlemen. I've got more intel on the psycho neighbour," Glenn smiled mischievously. "That's what brings us to the spicy bits. I, being the genius that I am, have been able to get all the data from Eric's phone. Here, let me show you."

 

To say the officers were stunned would be an understatement. There were tons of pictures and videos of Daryl and Paul, together and individually. The first few clips Glenn played had random moments from the couple's daily life with Paul cooking, Daryl feeding him, Daryl drying his boyfriend's hair and tying it neatly, Paul using his puppy face to get away with something he did, Daryl smiling at his peacefully sleeping boyfriend and kissing his forehead, Paul pouncing on his boyfriend out of nowhere and Daryl screaming clutching his chest while he doubled over laughing, Daryl falling onto the bed face-first with Paul clinging to his back like a stubborn child after giving the man a piggyback ride around the house and so on.

 

"I know right? Ugh, it's so adorable." Glenn squealed. Another technician, Tyreese, whipped his head in their direction from across the room, a look of disapproval clear on his face.

 

"You call these spicy bits?" Shane tried to speak normally but he had a goofy smile on his face too.

 

"Look at you, naughty boy." Glenn smirked again whacking Shane's head. "You don't forget anything, do you?"

 

"For god's sake, Glenn, we're investigating a serious matter!" Rick wailed as Shane tried to punch Glenn over his shoulder.

 

"Sure, whatever you say. I'd like to see your faces," Glenn grinned as he prepared to play some more clips. "After these!"

 

"What do you mean? Oh… oh okay… Do we… Do we have to watch this, though?" Rick faltered as he watched Paul giving Daryl a blowjob intensely, on the computer screen.

 

"Yes, yes, we have to." Glenn whispered.

 

"For- For… For that thing." Shane had his eyes fixed on the screen as another clip played featuring Daryl fucking Paul against the glass door. Their moans echoed through Glenn's office.

 

"Science." Glenn quipped.

 

"Yeah, that." Shane mumbled as another clip started playing. 

 

"This is ridiculous. We don't have to go through- Oh, hot damn, that's hot- What was I… Right, we don't have to go through all the clips." Rick cleared his throat.

 

"Well, we're still doing our job. Now we know that Daryl's been accurate in giving us information so far. This guy's got hundreds of such stuff stored in his phone." Shane spoke proudly. "This will get us a warrant to search his house, immediately. I say we've done an amazing job. We'll hopefully find out where they are."

 

"Are you three sick men watching porn on duty?!" Tyreese shouted and threw a notebook at them. "Not everyone here has questionable morality."

 

"Also, Rick's not as straight as he pretends to be." Glenn laughed as he ducked his head. Rick whacked him on the head playfully.

 

When Tyreese went back to work Glenn looked from Shane to Rick. "I must say, this guy doesn't know how to record a video. The angle's kinda off. Plus, it's a bit shaky. Do you guys think he was choking his chicken as he filmed?" Glenn mimicked holding a phone in his hand and used his other hand to gesture obscenely. "Like this?"

 

"GLENN!" Rick groaned. Shane and Glenn high-fived.

 

**____________________**

 

"Can you get me out of these?" Anger was oozing from Daryl's voice. "How the fuck do you think it's going to make the situation better for me?"

 

"I'm sorry sir, I can't. You've removed the attachments three times already." The nurse sighed. "At least until you're a bit calm."

 

"I'm not getting any calmer than THIS!" Daryl pulled at the straps tying his hand to the sidebars of his bed. There was no gap between his hand and the rail so he could not pull at them much. They had tied a few inches above his wrists to let his wrists heal. "THIS IS INHUMAN!"

 

"This is for your body to heal, son." Hershel said after he finished checking Daryl's wounds. "You've been so keen on not accepting anything we're giving you, I've heard."

 

"That's because these lazy assholes can't even do what they're supposed to do, no offence, doctor. Nobody's telling me how my boyfriend is."

 

"Well, you know that-"

 

"Please don't. Just let me be." Daryl closed his eyes in anger. He did not want to see anyone else's face anymore.

 

The doctor wrote a prescription and beckoned to the nurse on his way out. "Has he been eating his meals?"

 

"No, sir. He refused to open his mouth and spat out the pills. We had to put him on saline again and administer medications via IV push.  He keeps on screaming his head off if he's awake for a long time, asking for his boyfriend." The nurse licked her dry lips. "We had a really hard time controlling him last time. He doesn't even know that it's been three days since he's here."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"He still believes it's the same day he was brought in. We didn't correct him because… We-we wanted to keep him calm." The nurse answered hesitantly.

 

"What?! Keeping him in the dark wouldn't do him any good. How could you be so irresponsible? You didn't think of telling me this before?" Hershel controlled himself and refrained from giving her a mouthful. He could not waste more time. "Alright. Physically he's getting better. There are no other complications. His wounds are healing fast. We need a specialist right now. I know just the right person for this job. I'll make arrangements." 

 

**____________________**

 

Daryl could not keep track of time. He felt that it had been at least more than a day. He did not remember much. They had been giving him heavy sedatives along with some other shit he did not know. He did not want to believe that he had been there for more than a day. That would mean getting Paul back safely was beyond hope unless, of course, there was a miracle. Daryl was all for miracles at that point. 

 

A few hours ago, he had tricked the new nurse into letting his hands be free. Once he was free and the idiot was doing some paperwork, he had run. He had been out in the corridor when a few assholes had grabbed him and brought him back. Daryl was presently eyeing the said nurse vindictively. He should have knocked the living daylights out of that idiot before sprinting. After all, he was the one who had screamed for help.

 

Daryl turned his head when he heard a different set of footsteps approaching his bed. A gorgeous, tall, elegant woman walked in, wearing cropped black formal trousers and a maroon blouse. Dwight, the idiot in the name of a nurse, hurriedly placed a chair by his bed. Daryl turned his face to the opposite side indignantly.

 

"I think these idiots are trying their best not to offend you, but then again, they're idiots for a reason, right?" The pleasant voice made Daryl turn his head towards the speaker again.

 

"Like behaving like I'm mental for asking where the person I love is?" Daryl gave the woman a once-over. There was no name tag.

 

"Well, you're not wrong, but I heard you tried to escape-"

 

"-And I will do it again if I'm kept in the dark and treated like a psych patient, strapped to the bed. You all are making it worse. Keeping me here against my will, I'm gonna-"

 

"Where were you going?" 

 

"Huh?"

 

"You don't want to be here, right? So, where do you want to go?"

 

"Who are you?" Daryl narrowed his eyes.

 

"You answer my question. I'll answer yours."

 

"Fine. I want to look for my boyfriend since nobody's doing it. It's been a day." Daryl tried to shift but the straps allowed no movements. "Fuck this shit!"

 

"Why do you think nobody's looking for him?"

 

"I'm not saying anything else unless I know who you are." Daryl answered adamantly.

 

"I'm Michonne Grimes, a psychiatrist. I know what you're thinking. I'm not here to prove that there's something wrong with you. It's quite the opposite." The woman smiled sympathetically. "You might not want to tell others what's troubling you but I believe you'd want to tell me. Your secrets will be safe forever, doctor-patient privilege."

 

Grimes. Grimes. That officer, Rick Grimes. "Is the Sheriff's Deputy…" Daryl started absentmindedly.

 

"Yeah, he's my husband. But I'm not here on his behalf. I'm here because Dr. Greene wanted you to be able to talk to someone without anything holding you down." Michonne leaned back into her chair. "You said no one was telling you anything. You can ask me anything you want to know."

 

"They haven't found him yet, isn't it?" Daryl whispered after a minute.

 

"Not yet, but I can assure you that they're working on it day and night. I'm not supposed to tell you this but my husband spent last night in his office." Michonne said truthfully.

 

"When can I be discharged?" Daryl did not want to ask anything else. His heart could not endure so much pain. But he needed to assess the situation.

 

"Whenever the sutures are removed and you're willing to take care of yourself. Since you keep on pulling at them it's going to take some time." Michonne smiled again. "I'd suggest start with eating something. You've been on saline drips for three days now."

 

_ Three days _ . 

 

_ He had been here for the last three days. _

 

Three days since the incident. Three days of Paul being alone in that state. Was he even breathing? No, Paul was alright. Daryl mentally berated himself for being so pessimistic. These people were never going to let him go if he kept on being stubborn.  

 

"I'm sure he's okay. You can't lose hope. No news is good news, right?" Michonne tried.

 

Daryl did not speak for a moment. Then he nodded. "I agree. I've just been paranoid, I guess. I'm going to what you said. There's no harm in trying." 

 

"Excellent! Do you want to ask me anything else?" Michonne seemed extremely pleased.

 

Daryl shook his head instantly. He was not even listening to Michonne anymore. How long did it take for the police department to look for a missing person? It was not like Eric was that clever. They were not even trying, Daryl concluded. Paul did not matter to them at all. It was up to Daryl now. He needed to get out of this place anyhow. Deception, Daryl decided, was his last resort.

 

**_______________________**

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad that some of you are reading my story but I'd love to hear your thoughts so that I understand if you're still interested in it. It'd really keep me going. I'm hoping for some constructive criticism as well. Please leave a comment. Thank you!


	16. Desperation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter. Parts in italics are Daryl's dreams. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Thank you, Michonne, for coming here on such short notice." Hershel said softly and sipped on his lemon tea.

 

"Don't thank me, Hershel. Rick wouldn't shut up about the couple. I had to see the man. I'd have come anyway." Michonne gave Hershel a warm smile.  "Daryl loves that man unconditionally. That incident has really shaken him to the core."

 

"How do you think he's doing?"

 

"Like you told me, physically he's absolutely getting better. After I talked to him, he agreed to eat and take his meds. I think that's a huge success. You know that we can't be absolutely sure about what's going on inside his head. Even so, the fact that he's letting us in, shows that he's willing to get better." Michonne was tracing the outline of the cup of her coffee. "That's undoubtedly a good sign. He's mostly worried about being in the dark and the passage of time. He's worried that it might be too late for his lover."

 

"We can only hope and pray for the young man." Hershel responded with deep sincerity.

 

"It'll be alright, Hershel. I'll prescribe some medications and supplements before he's discharged. I've told the nurses not to get under his skin. He only wants honest answers. Let me know if he has another episode." 

 

**____________________**

 

Daryl remained calm, more than he had decided he would. He ate his meals without fuss. In fact, he did not even oppose to the meds he was given. He answered whatever he was asked perfectly. He behaved so normally that they removed the straps binding him to his bed, took out his intravenous lines and tubes and removed his catheter. Daryl could feel that Dwight was on the alert from the moment Daryl was literally free. 

 

Daryl was having a hard time staying that calm. However, he knew that the only way out was to continue doing what he was doing. He did not have to put in too much effort though. He was sleeping most of the time. It was a great escape plan. It was already working. These people were hell-bent on finding something wrong with him, Daryl thought. It did not matter a bit anyway because he was going to continue outwitting these idiots. They had no idea who they were messing with. Nobody could keep him away from Paul anymore.

 

On the morning of the seventh day, Hershel was removing the sutures from his arms after removing the ones from his torso.

 

Although Daryl's tongue itched to ask the question that had been nagging him persistently, he did not. He was so close. He could not give up his pretence now. Luckily, Hershel brought up the topic and saved him the trouble.

 

"I say, you have a superpower. You heal faster than most people." 

 

"Must be the genes, my brother's the same." Daryl's answer was crisp.

 

"Since you're quite alright now, I'll discharge you whenever you want to. Your colleagues had come. You were sleeping. They were more than willing to look after you." Hershel smiled at Daryl.

 

"I'll talk to them. They worry too much. I think I can manage. If I can't, I definitely won't hesitate to ask for help." Daryl smiled back. "I'm getting homesick, really. I think if I'm home, I'd feel better."

 

Hershel studied him for a bit and nodded. "In that case, I'll get your prescription ready. Dr. Grimes will see you and write you a prescription as well."

 

"Thank you, Dr. Greene."

 

"If you ever feel unwell or experience any sort of discomfort, call me immediately." Hershel continued removing the sutures.

 

**____________________**

 

The session with Dr. Grimes went well. Daryl enthusiastically nodded to whatever she advised. He promised to contact her anytime if he felt upset. She wrote a prescription for him.

 

Principal Carol, chemistry teacher Gabriel, and Maths teacher Rosita had come to take him home. So, they were the overenthusiastic bunch, Daryl thought as he sat in the reception area waiting for them to complete the paperwork on his behalf and collect his medications.

 

An hour later, Gabriel parked his car in front of Daryl's house. Nobody moved or said anything for a moment. Eventually, Daryl broke the silence.

 

"I really appreciate your help. I know you're worried about me. Trust me, I'm a lot better now." Daryl started.

 

"We're having none of that, Daryl. We're going to take turns to look after you." Rosita patted Daryl's back.

 

"I don't want to sound rude but I want to be alone for a while. I promise, I'm not going to do anything stupid. I just need some time to wrap my head around whatever shitstorm this is. I hope you'd let me do that." Daryl's patience was wearing thin.

 

"Daryl, are you sure? You're not quite-" Gabriel could not finish as Daryl held his hand up.

 

"I'll call you guys if I ever find the situation unnerving."

 

"We'll check on you from time to time. If you don't answer we're going to immediately assume the negative." Carol finally smiled and nodded. "I know you need your space. But remember that we're always there for you. Whatever you need we're just one call away, alright?"

 

Daryl nodded.

 

They got Daryl's stuff inside and drove away. Immediately after they left, Daryl felt that the air was too heavy. The last time he was here, his world had not turned upside down. He was happy. His Paul was happy. Daryl did not want anyone else to be there with him but that did not mean that he did not know that he would not be able to live in that house without his lover. Everywhere he looked he could feel Paul's lingering presence. They had been practically living together. 

 

Daryl walked into his bedroom with heavy steps. Paul had made his bed that day. He walked over to the bed and lay down gingerly facing Paul's side of the bed. "Please come back to me. I can't go on without you. Please forgive me. I can't do it without you. Please come back."

 

**____________________**

 

_ "Don't come near me." _

 

_ "What?!" _

 

_ "You're not well, Paul. You need help."  _

 

_ "Don't say that. I've never loved anyone like this before. Please don't do this to me." _

 

_ "I thought I'd be with you. But it's too late now." _

 

_ "Don't hate me, please. You said you'd never hate me. I opened up to you as I'd never done before. I trusted you, Daryl. How can you do this to me?"  _

 

_ Paul was crying.  _

 

_ "I said don't touch me, you psycho!" Daryl swatted Paul's hand away. "Stay away from me. I don't want to see you anymore. Nobody ever can love you."  _

 

_ Someone was hitting Paul on his head but he did not resist. He was staring at Daryl, begging him to love him back. His voice was going fainter. There was blood everywhere. Paul was drowning in the blood. His body was going down and down... _

 

Daryl jerked awake. Every night for the last two days he had had pretty much the same dream. It always started with their actual argument, insults he had hurled at Paul. Then Daryl kept on rejecting him harshly, saying exactly what would hurt the man the most. Somehow, Paul always ended up weak and bloodied, pleading Daryl to love him back. Sometimes Daryl found him drowning in blood, sometimes he found a body bag with Paul in it, sometimes Daryl found an unknown assailant beating his lover to death.

 

Daryl had stopped taking his medicine. He answered his colleagues calls to keep them from visiting him. He skipped meals. More often than not, he starved himself. When Rick and Shane had come to see him he had been short and uncivil with them. 

 

Three days had passed since Daryl returned. No news was good news, he kept on repeating it like a mantra.

 

**____________________**

 

Another week had passed.

 

It became absolutely clear to everyone very soon that Daryl had turned into a recluse. His colleagues came to see him everyday but that always annoyed Daryl and made him agitated. Eventually, they gave him the space he asked for, yet never failed to check on him over the phone. 

 

The two missing people had not resurfaced.

 

**____________________**

 

_ "You don't fucking get it, right? Do you want me to spell it out for you? You're insane, Paul. You can never love. Not me, not anyone else." _

 

_ Paul looked utterly lost. He was staring at Daryl as if Daryl was breaking his trust. _

 

_ "You're just a murderer. You ruined my life." _

 

_ Paul looked like Daryl was letting him down and taking everything away from him. _

 

_ "I regret ever loving you. I don't want anything to do with you."  _

 

_ The younger man's eyes widened. He looked defeated.  "Daryl, don't say that, please. I love you so much." _

 

_ "I don't." _

 

Daryl woke up sobbing. He had barely slept in the last few days. His dreams had got worse. He kept on reliving the actual last conversation between Paul and himself in his dreams. What had he done? In his anger, he spat venom at the only one who mattered to him. 

 

That was the last conversation between them.

 

"No, please don't let it be the last thing he heard from me. Oh god, please give me a chance to let him know I never meant what I said." Guilt hit him so hard that Daryl felt that someone was ripping his heart out of his chest. Paul had gone from his life with the knowledge that Daryl hated him. "How could I? HOW COULD I SAY THAT? HOW COULD I HURT HIM LIKE THAT?" 

 

Daryl could see now why Paul did what he did. In fact, he would have killed his ex for hurting Paul had he been alive. Paul was not a murderer. He was just trying to save himself from being abused and that day he was just trying to save Daryl from that fucker, Eric. 

 

Paul would never get to know that Daryl could never hate him. No, he was alright, Daryl reminded himself. He would do everything in his power to make up for his behaviour. Daryl knew that what he did was outrageous and unjustifiable. What if Paul never came back to him thinking Daryl hated him? What if Paul never forgave him? How would Daryl live without him? 

 

"No. Paul will come back. Paul will come back to me. He's alright. He's alright. He's strong. He knows how to take care of himself." Daryl told himself as he got off the bed. "I need him. He knows that. He'd forgive me for being stupid. He knows how much I love him."

 

Daryl spent hours sitting on the porch. He knew that he deserved this for hurting his baby. But Paul deserved so much more. His baby deserved the entire world. 

 

"You're alright. I know that you're alright. I'll do anything. Just come back. Don't punish me this way, baby. Come back to me." Daryl never stopped praying.

 

**____________________**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the wonderful comments on the last chapter. I love to interact with you. Do let me know what you thought of this chapter. Love you all so much!


	17. The Return

The concept of waking up in the morning had become foreign to Daryl. The nightmares kept him up every night. He usually slept around dawn. If he was lucky, he got a few hours' sleep. He always avoided taking any medicine at all costs.

 

One morning, Daryl had been tossing and turning in vain. He could feel the warmth of the rays of the sun hitting the bedroom windows. He got up and drank some water. He ditched the idea of going back to bed in favour of sitting on his porch. He opened the front door and stepped out.

 

Someone was already sitting in his chair.  He stood up slowly when he saw Daryl. Daryl stood paralysed as he stared at the person standing barefoot in dirty clothes with unwashed hair and a deep scar across the forehead to go with a large fading bruise. 

 

Daryl struggled for air and his knees were starting to give out.

 

"I just came to see if you're okay. I'll leave don't worry-" 

 

Daryl crossed the distance between them in three steps and took the man in his arms. "You came back... Oh my god... You came back... You came back to me!" Daryl had rarely cried that hard. It felt like someone punched his bag of emotions inside his body.

 

"Daryl-" 

 

"You're okay… I'm sorry… I'm sorry… Don't leave me, please… Don't ever… Oh god, you're okay." Daryl was sobbing hysterically. 

 

"Hey, I'm here now. Shall we go inside? I haven't had much to eat lately." Paul chuckled. "And I smell. How are you even holding me?"

 

Daryl pulled away and wiped his face. "You don't smell." He sniffled and led Paul inside. He could not help but notice how slowly the man was walking. 

 

Daryl wanted to know everything at once but feeding his man was his top priority. He diced up some veggies quickly and started a pot of vegetable soup, thanking Carol internally for doing the grocery shopping for him. 

 

"Let me help you change your clothes." Daryl was touching Paul's face carefully. It had been so long since he saw his lover, touched him, loved him. 

 

"I can do that, Daryl. Just a bit weak is all. I'll be back." 

 

Daryl could not help but feel how heartbroken Paul seemed. They had a lot to talk about. For the time being, that could hold. Daryl turned his attention towards the soup. 

 

**____________________**

 

Paul did need help in the shower. The man was so weak that he could not stand for a long time. Daryl scrubbed him gently and washed his hair. Neither of them said a word to each other. Daryl dried his lover off and helped him get dressed. 

 

Daryl did not let Paul eat on his own. He wanted to feed his man himself. After some time, Paul grabbed Daryl's hand. 

 

"I'm not eating more until you do too. Have you seen yourself in the mirror? You've lost so much weight. Hold on, I'll go get yours." Paul made to get up only to be stopped by Daryl.

 

"Don't get up. I'm bringing mine. You finish yours." Daryl handed Paul the bowl and went to get his. 

 

**____________________**

 

"You're staring. It's getting creepy now, Daryl." Paul was lying in bed while Daryl sat cross-legged facing him.

 

"I just… I don't know how to…" Daryl had not been able to form a sentence when it came to asking his lover how he survived. He did not know how to bring it up.

 

Paul smiled knowingly. "I'd have come back earlier but I thought you didn't want to see me. I didn't really have a reason to come back. Paul touched his scar gently.

 

"I hit you. I said unforgivable things to you. I behaved exactly how those bastards behaved. Why did you come back?"

 

"You know that I love you."

 

"I even told you that I hated you. I've failed you, Paul. I don't deserve your love." Daryl looked down. Tears of regret and shame stung his eyes. "I'd been waiting for you to come back because I knew that you were okay. I kept on telling myself that I'd ask you to give me a chance to undo the damage I'd done. Now that you're here, I feel like I don't deserve any chances. I just deserve to be tormented till my last breath for what I've done to you. I'll never forgive myself."

  
  


"Don't say that."

 

"Why didn't you kill me that day? Why aren't you breaking up with me? I treated you just like others did. How can you love me still?"

 

"Daryl! That's enough."

 

"I can't sleep anymore. The betrayed look on your face haunts me all the time." 

 

"Hey, hey, come here." Paul patted the spot beside him and held his hand out gesturing for Daryl to lie down. When he did Paul caressed his hair. "Every couple fights. What matters is how they resolve the issues. The way you're suffering now proves how much you love me. That's enough for me. It's okay. We're here now. We'll always come back to each other. We're together again. Nothing can pull us apart."

  
  


"You got hurt. If I hadn't been so stubborn, you'd have been alright." 

 

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying, baby?" Paul smiled softly and wiped the tears tracks on Daryl's face with his thumb. "I'm alright now. You're taking care of me. I'll be the way I was in a week. I'm definitely going to order you around and make you suffer. That'd be your punishment."

 

Daryl chuckled even as he was crying. "You do that." He pulled his boyfriend close and held him tightly. "I was dying here without you. If you try to leave me ever again, I'll kill you myself."

 

"How romantic, Daryl Dixon!"

 

"Shut up…" Daryl peppered Paul's face with kisses for a moment and then stopped abruptly.

 

"What's wrong, baby?" Paul looked into Daryl's eyes searching for the source of his concern.

 

"How did you- how did you get out? Where did he take you? Did- did he do something while you were…" Daryl could not complete the sentence. He had been so wrapped up in his guilt that he forgot to ask about Eric.

 

"At the cottage, yes, but I don't remember much about where he took me."

 

"What?! Did he force himself on you? Don't lie to me-"

 

"No, nothing like that, I promise. He just kept on beating me. I was barely conscious so he took advantage of that. But you know me, I don't go easily. I admit that I lost so much blood. It's a miracle that I'm here." Paul traced patterns on Daryl's back.

 

"That's why you've become so weak. How did you survive like that?"

 

"I've got my ways. A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell." Paul winked.

 

"You're hardly a gentleman. You're the most imbecile, unrefined, disgusting piece of ass I've ever met." Daryl tried to joke but couldn't bring himself to smile. 

 

Paul laughed heartily. The familiar sound calmed Daryl down a bit.

 

"Where's the bastard now?" 

 

"Where do you want him to be?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

 

"I want him dead."

 

"Well, he is." Paul grinned.

 

"Good."

 

"Good."

 

**____________________**

 

Daryl knew that they would have to be extremely careful. No one should know that Paul was back. They would ask him questions about everything. Not that Paul needed to go outside anymore. Daryl was capable of taking care of him. As if, he would let Paul go out while he was still healing.

 

"I can't help but feel that something's not alright. I can't figure out what. Something's really strange." Daryl mumbled. 

 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Paul was throwing a tantrum because Daryl had told him that he was not allowed to go out.

 

"That shit won't work here. You're not leaving the house. I don't want to hear anything on this topic." Daryl tossed a load into the washing machine, two weeks' long overdue.

 

"But why can't I go out? It's not like I never killed someone before." Paul pouted. "Did I get caught?"

 

"Shhh! Don't shout, you idiot. Don't argue with me. You're not going out and that's final."

 

"I've got rid of him nice and smooth. Nobody would find him, ever." Paul whined. "I swear it's real professional stuff. I'm a professional."

 

"It's not just that. You're still healing." Daryl turned on the washing machine and came over to the sofa to kneel down in front of his lover. "I don't want to lose you to anything stupid. Do it for me, please. We can go out at times but you're not going back to work, not now, at least. Let me take care of you. It's one of the ways I want to make it up to you."

 

Paul finally agreed. "Then let me help you with chores." 

 

"Not until you're fit." Daryl kissed Paul's forehead and went back to work. "I'm not going back to work until your health improves."

 

"I am fit."

 

"No, you're not."

 

"You've become like those annoying dads."

 

"Thank you!"

 

"Well, I hate you, then!"

 

"Save it for later, because I'm boiling carrots for you, again."

 

Paul groaned in disgust.

 

**____________________**

 

"Are you sure you can be by yourself? It's going to take only twenty minutes."

 

"No, I'm gonna burn the house down by the time you're back. Come on, Daryl, I'm okay. Okay enough to go out with you." Paul tried. " Only twenty minutes, you said."

 

"Not happening, darling." Daryl smirked.

 

"God, Daryl, you should let your cute puppy out once in a while. It's been four days. I'll do bad stuff in your absence. Throw away the disgusting veggies and eat spicy food. What if I get sick?" Paul wiggled his eyebrows.

 

"Fine. I'll take you somewhere tomorrow. Stop blackmailing me. Be good. I'll be back." Daryl kissed his man, got his wallet, phone and keys and locked the door behind him.

 

Daryl rode his bike to the nearest grocery store. He picked up groceries quickly along with some healthy snacks, toiletries and some dessert ingredients. Even though he never used the meds the doctors had prescribed him, some of them could be used for Paul too. Since he had all the necessary medicine at home, it saved him the trip to the pharmacy. 

 

When Daryl got back home Paul wasn't in the living room. It was quiet. He quickly placed the basket onto the kitchen counter and called out for his boyfriend. It felt like there was no one in the house other than him.

 

"Baby, where are you?" Daryl searched every room but no sign of the other man. Where did he go? There was no sign of forced entry. A shiver ran down his spine. Was the front door open when returned? He could not remember. Did he leave him? Daryl plopped down on the edge of his bed and rubbed his face. "Where did you go, baby? I should've allowed you to tag along."

 

"Damn right, you should have." 

 

Daryl turned so quickly that he felt a bit dizzy. Paul was lying there with the blanket covering him completely only his head peeked out from under it. 

 

"YOU'RE FUCKING SICK! I WAS HAVING A HEART ATTACK IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES!"

 

"I think you've learnt your lesson. Next time, I'm going to-"

 

"I was about to make some cupcakes for you but now I won't. Boiled veggies again for you, sir." Daryl turned back again.

 

"Don't be like that, it was fun. You should have seen your face." Paul was laughing so much that his eyes got teary.

 

"It wasn't funny. Stop acting like a ten-year-old." Daryl was really scared. The fear of losing the man had become a permanent threat in his life. 

 

"Don't do that again. I don't like that. I've spent so much time worrying over you. You've got no idea how it was for me. I knew I was responsible for what happened to you. It was like I was being tortured to death but that relief never came. I can't do that again. I don't have it in me. Not anymore." Daryl spoke so softly that he was sure Paul did not hear him. However, his boyfriend had stopped laughing. Daryl felt arms holding him from behind. 

 

"I'm sorry, baby. I didn't know it'd trigger bad memories. You won't be able to get rid of me ever. You're mine, remember?" 

 

Daryl placed his palms over Paul's hands on his chest and nodded.

 

"Now show me what you've got me from the store."

 

**____________________**

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the lovely people who commented on the last chapter, I absolutely loved the speculations about the entire situation. I'm extremely excited to hear your thoughts on this one. Have a wonderful day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> Please let me know if I've missed any tags or warnings. I'll definitely add them.
> 
>  
> 
> Find me on Tumblr:
> 
> alargerworld.tumblr.com


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